The Longest Day
by White-Knight-1988
Summary: They thought they had seen it all. They were wrong. No monster attack could prepare them for what was coming next. With no power to protect them, Zordon's twelve are called on to save the country. Can they do it? This, is the longest day of their lives...
1. 8:00 am

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

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_The following takes place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Events occur in real time._

_Reefside, CA_

_8:00 a.m._

Another year at Reefside High School. And just like the two before this one, the man standing at the front of the classroom was so sure that this one would be the same. No more monster attacks, no more psychotic evil villains threatening to take over the world and no more teenaged superheroes in spandex. It was just going to be another normal and boring year.

Since the defeat of Mesogog nearly three years earlier, everything in Reefside had been relatively peaceful. They were working on their third year in a row without a major attack on the city. With everything so quiet for so long, he knew it was only a matter of time before something happened. Something bad.

And if something did happen, especially in Reefside, they were all but screwed. There were no more power sources he could use to defend the city if an attack actually did occur. Only he and three others he had served with still had access to power but their connection to the power was extremely weak and only to be used in the event of an absolute emergency.

It was unlikely an attack would happen, once a bad guy had been stopped the next one usually picked another city to go after but there was still a chance one could occur. One thing he had learned in all his years as a Ranger was to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Now, he couldn't be prepared even if he wanted to be.

Then there was the class. Half of them weren't even _acting_ like they were paying attention to him standing at the front of the classroom with his arms folded across his chest. Even if he hadn't liked school at their age he had always paid attention or at least pretended to simply out of respect for his elders. Clearing his throat loudly, he waited and got…nothing. They were so caught up in their own conversations that only the people in the front row, the ones he knew were there to pay attention, could actually hear him.

"Hey!" a brunette girl in the very back row yelled after standing up. She had obviously been paying enough attention to notice the frustration on his face. "Shut up! Our teacher's trying to talk to us you guys! Knock it off and pay attention!"

Instantly, the class settled down and fell silent. Tommy shot her a grateful smile and she nodded politely before slumping down into her seat with a look that said she was embarrassed by her outburst.

"Thank you. My name is Dr. Tommy Oliver and this is first period biology. If you're not supposed to be here, then you're already late for class and I suggest you get going," he told the students before him, watching as a few got up and left before pointing to one of the students he was standing in front of. "Let's get started with introductions. We'll start with you. What's your name and something unique about you?"

"Michael Almeida, sir," the young freshman answered. "Something interesting about me? Well...I want to study paleontology. Like digging up dinosaur bones and stuff like that."

"Really?" Tommy asked with a grin of genuine surprise, getting a head nod in return. "That's excellent, Michael. Come see me after school one of these days and we'll talk. I have my doctorate in paleontology. It's quite an interesting field if you're serious about it."

Michael Almeida smiled brightly, nodding his head as Tommy continued down the line. Twenty-four kids after Michael told him their names and an interesting fact about themselves, only two or three actually saying something he cared enough about to listen to. He wouldn't remember their names, at least not right away that is. It was more of a formality, something he did with every class to at least present some sort of semblance of interest in what he was doing. The truth of the matter though, was that he was as far from interested in what he was doing as one could be with their job. With so few kids who actually cared, it was hard to be interested no matter how much he truly loved paleontology and science in general.

Teaching had become routine, boring even, something he did because there were bills that needed to be taken care of and they never seemed to want to pay themselves no matter how much he wished they would. He craved excitement, the thrill of doing something dangerous and daring but the teenaged years of karate tournaments, tackle football in the park and the hairpin turns at extreme speeds that came with driving a race car had long since left him behind.

There was no more earring or ponytail, the rebel he had once been dying out as the years went by, at least on the exterior. On the inside though, he wanted that life back more than anything. He would drop everything just to be able to morph once again, hop into the cockpit of his Falcon Zord and race it across the sky one last time. Dr. Tommy Oliver, the man who had once craved adrenaline and adventure, had been relegated to nothing more than a simple, boring, mundane high school science teacher.

Looking at the new faces in his classroom, he wondered how his life had gotten to this point, how he had gone from the dangerous rebel without a cause as a teen to Ben Stein in _Ferris Bueller's Day Off._ The black slacks, black loafers and black polo, tucked in of course, had replaced the tee shirts, jeans and tennis shoes of old. His hair was short, he wore glasses and reminded his students to study every night.

He had become exactly what he didn't want to be. Average. Normal. Words he had never wanted to hear spoken or even thought about in the same sentence as his name.

It had been fun for awhile, going on digs with Anton Mercer, using the technology they had discovered to create something bigger than themselves but even that was gone. There were no more digs or creating dinosaur creatures, no more fighting evil or being a Power Ranger. He was just a teacher, just a normal guy with nothing spectacular or extraordinary happening in his life.

He hated that, despised it with a passion that you couldn't understand if you hadn't been in his exact position. Everyone he had ever served with was doing something exciting with their lives. Everyone except him, that is.

Trini Kwan was a high profile lawyer in New York City working some of the biggest cases in the country. Katherine Hillard danced and acted on Broadway while Tanya Sloan got on a stage every night and sang to sold out arenas. Zachary Taylor made a living producing records, Tanya being the biggest artist he had worked with. Adam Park was an acclaimed Hollywood stuntman, Rocky DeSantos had opened a chain of karate school all across California and Aisha Campbell had become a surgeon in Los Angeles. Jason Scott, his best friend, was a paramedic in Angel Grove and even Billy Cranston, their resident genius, was doing something exciting, working in a top secret government agency that no one had ever heard of. Justin Stewart, an adult now, was in his senior year of college at San Diego State. The only one he didn't know about was Kimberly Hart, at least he didn't know about her yet.

"Your name, young lady?" he asked, pointing to the small brunette who had spoken up earlier and now appeared to be hiding in the corner, as far away from his as possible. "What's your name?"

"Jessica, sir," she answered shyly. "Jessica Hart."

"Hart, huh? You wouldn't be any relation to Kimberly Hart, would you?" Tommy asked jokingly, not thinking that it was actually possible.

"Actually, yes. She's my aunt," she told him, the color suddenly draining from Tommy's face. "Why? Do you know her?"

_Dammit_ he cursed himself_. Why did I even ask? Way to go, Oliver. Now you have to find a way to dig yourself out of this one. Great job, chief._

"Uh, yeah. We went to high school together actually," he replied awkwardly. "Would you mind staying a few minutes after class, Jessica?"

"Umm…sure, I guess," she squeaked out. "I'm not in any trouble for yelling earlier, am I?"

"No, no. Of course not. I haven't seen or heard from Kim in a long time. I just want to know how she's doing, that's all," he answered with a slight grin, getting a head nod in reply. "Alright then, now that we're all introduced, let's get started. Let's open up those textbooks our lovely school district has so graciously provided to page ten and start reading the first chapter on cells and organisms."

His voice dripped with sarcasm at the first part of his last sentence. The textbooks were old, dilapidated and falling apart, just another reason for him to be disillusioned with his job. Apparently, the district didn't think highly enough to spring for new textbooks to replace the current ones that were ten years old. The running joke when the district's science teachers got together for their annual conference was that the books were so old that they taught creationism instead of evolution.

As the kids all opened their textbooks, Tommy took a seat in the black leather chair behind his desk wondering how just how in the world he had gotten stuck with another Hart. Maybe this semester wasn't going to be as boring as he had initially thought it was going to be.

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_Angel Grove Diner_

_Angel Grove, CA_

_8:17 a.m._

Whole wheat toast with butter and grape jam, coffee with two sugars and a splash of nonfat milk and an omelet with ham, jack cheese and green peppers. He ordered it every morning before work. Or at lunch. Or at dinner depending on when his shift actually was. In fact, it had become such common place that it was usually already being prepared the moment he had walked through the front door.

"Jesus, Jason. You're never gonna order anything different, are you?" the woman across from him asked with a laugh. "How does that not get boring?"

"Liz, when you've seen the things I've seen, a little normalcy goes a long way," he replied, not paying much attention to her as he scanned the newspaper in front of him. "Besides, I like it and it tastes good. You can't beat that."

Elizabeth Carson, his partner of three years, let out a quiet chuckle and an eye roll at his response. For three years, five days a week, they came to Angel Grove Diner when they got their break from work. She never ordered the same thing two days in a row but in something like seven-hundred trips to the restaurant she had never seen him order anything other than whole wheat toast, black coffee and the omelet. It didn't matter if it was six a.m. or six p.m., it was always the same thing. She was just about to pop off with another remark when the sound of static came through on their radios.

_Unit 6, we have shots fired at 8th and Sunset, requesting immediate response. Over._

"Dammit, that's Allen and Marc's area isn't it?," Liz half-asked, half-complained. "You know those son's of bitches are sitting under the bridge in the van with their radios off and a donut in each hand"

Rolling his eyes, Jason and Liz jumped up from their seats and headed for the front counter. This had happened numerous times in the past with Allen Johnson and Marc Sanchez, two medics who were notorious for being "unavailable" when emergencies like this occurred. Jason just laughed, knowing that those two had one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel as far as their jobs were concerned.

"Time to save the world," he muttered to her with a grin. "Hey, Betty. Cancel breakfast. Here's some cash anyway. See you tomorrow, sweetie."

Jason winked at the older woman and tossed a few bills on top of the counter for her. She had been working in the diner since he was ten years old and had sold him the first ice cream sundae he had ever purchased with his own hard earned money from mowing lawns in his neighborhood. To a ten year old kid, that meant a lifetime of friendship.

She had been the proverbial after school babysitter long before Ernie had opened his doors to the Youth Center and Juice Bar. As he got older, he started spending less time in the diner and more time with his friends at Ernie's place but, an adult now, the diner was more his style. On most days he could come in, have a meal in peace and read the paper without being disturbed. No kids running around, no chaos or commotion to deal with. Just the peace and quiet of Angel Grove's oldest eatery.

Running out of the diner, Jason hopped into the passenger seat, turning on the lights and siren with Liz getting behind the wheel and starting up the ambulance. Driving to the scene, neither of them noticed the black sedan that was following behind them.

Inside the car, two men in black suits looked at each other and nodded in confirmation that they were following the right person.

"Stay close but don't let them know we're tailing them," the man in the passenger seat ordered. "He'll know when the time is right."

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_Mastodon Records and Recording Studio_

_Valencia, CA_

_8: 24 a.m._

"How'd that sound, Zack?" Tanya asked, stepping out of the recording booth.

"Pretty good, T," Zack answered with his famous grin. "I think you can take it a little higher when the hook comes in, put a little more soul into it, ya know? Other than that, it was perfect."

They were hard at work on her follow-up album, hoping the magic was still there after her debut which had gotten them both nominated for a slew of awards at shows all across the country. Zack Taylor had taken home a few trophies from mediocre award shows due to his production work on the album but the golden gramophone in his office was his pride and joy, a Grammy for Record of the Year. It sat on a shelf on the wall behind his desk, a constant reminder that hard work and perseverance paid off.

But Zack's lone Grammy whimpered in comparison to the trophies Tanya had in the office adjacent to his. Three MTV awards, four Kid's Choice Awards, two AMA's, two Billboard Awards and three Grammy's had made Tanya Sloan the most sought after singer in the whole country. Producers with more esteemed credentials and much more experience came calling to produce her sophomore record but each and every one had gotten turned down.

Zack had expected her to go running, leaving him behind at the mere possibility of working with a more famous producer but loyalty was something her life in the safaris of Africa and her tenure as the yellow Zeo Ranger and the first yellow Turbo Ranger had instilled in her at a very young age. Besides, they made a pretty good team in her book. He knew what she was about and had never once tried to get her to change her image or her music for the sake of popularity.

When they got together to record a song, the chemistry was unbelievable. Every piece of music he made was perfectly fit to Tanya's voice. And their partnership in the booth was beginning to look like it had the potential to blossom into something a little bit bigger than just a professional working relationship.

So there they were, hoping lightning would strike twice for them with another hit album. Sitting at the control table, the place where Zack, in his words, "made magic," they listened to her newest song with Zack pointing out places he thought she could make it better. She was just about to go back into the booth for another take at the song when a loud knock came at the door.

"Come back in fifteen minutes!" Zack yelled, rolling his eyes when the door opened. "I said come back later! This is a private sess…" His voice trailed off when he spun around in his chair to find two men standing there in black suits, stone cold faces on both of them. "Can I help you guys with something?"

"Zachary Taylor and Tanya Sloan?" one of the men asked, getting slow and apprehensive nods from both of them. "My name is Agent John Jeffries. I'm with the NBMAA. I need you both to come with me right away."

Reaching into his suit jacket, Agent Jeffries pulled out a badge and showed it to them, the pair exchanging concerned looks with each other.

"What's going on?" Tanya asked. "And what the hell is the NBMAA?"

"Please, Ms. Sloan. All your questions will be answered in time," the second man spoke up. "But for right now you need to come with us."

The two agents didn't even give Zack and Tanya a chance to respond. Each made their move at one of them, grabbing an arm and yanking them up onto their feet. When Zack tried to take a swing at Agent Jeffries, the suited man ducked and reached into his pocket, jabbing Zack in the side with a taser. The men were obviously well trained and prepared for resistance.

As Zack's body slumped to the floor, Tanya tried to kick the man and let out a horrified scream that became quickly muffled by the agent's hand over her mouth. He wrapped his arm around her neck, cutting off her air supply until she passed out, joining Zack on the ground.

"Why can't they ever just come peacefully?" Agent Jeffries asked sarcastically, pulling Zack to his feet then throwing his body over his shoulder. "I hope the others have better luck. Let's go, Bruce. We need to get them back to the base as soon as possible."

Nodding, the man identified as Bruce did the same thing with Tanya's body as they carried the pair out of the recording studio. Dumping their bodies into the backseat of a black sedan, the two agents got into the front seat with Agent Jeffries driving away as fast as humanly possible.

From the backseat, Zack let out a loud groan and slowly managed to push himself back into a sitting position. Immediately, he noticed Tanya passed out with her head on his lap and pushed her on her shoulder to try and wake her.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" Zack demanded. "If she's hurt I swear to God I'll rip you both limb from limb. You have no idea who you are messing with. I've got friends who will make your lives a living hell."

"Empty threats mean nothing to us, Mr. Taylor. We know about your friends and we're all trained to handle them," Bruce replied, Zack's mouth falling open in shock. "We're with the government, son. We know more than you think."

"Zack? Where are we?" Tanya groaned as Zack stroked her hair soothingly. "What happened?"

"Shhh, it's okay, sweetie," Zack answered reassuringly. "We're just going for a little ride, I guess."

"Ms. Sloan, like we told you inside, all your questions will be answered shortly," Agent Jeffries interjected. "We regret having to use force but you left us no other choice. For now, I suggest you rest. You'll need it where we're going."

Letting out a sigh, Zack rolled his eyes and fell back against the leather seat, keeping a protective arm wrapped around Tanya's shoulder. Introduced to each other by Tommy at a reunion a few years back, the pair had instantly bonded over their love and appreciation for music. Spending so many hours together working on her album along with the protectiveness Zack had developed for her, both knew it was only a matter of time before their friendship evolved into something more.

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_Los Angeles, CA_

_8:33 a.m._

The morning sun high in the air, two men and a woman sat on the patio of a Los Angeles restaurant waiting on their breakfast to arrive. A hooded sweatshirt and cap to cover his face, one of the men sipped on a frothy latte with a smile. Adam Park had just landed the biggest role of his career, a lead job in one of the summer's biggest action movies.

"How are the schools coming, Rocky?" the female asked to their third companion. "Still kicking the crap out of kids every day to make yourself feel less old?"

"Only on days that end in "y," 'Sha," he replied with a grin, taking a drink from his coffee mug. "How about you? Still cutting people open and playing with internal organs?"

"Hey, I'm trying to eat here," Adam interjected, pointing to the bowl of fruit that had just been set in front of him. "Let's keep the discussion of cutting body parts on hold until after breakfast."

Rocky DeSantos and Aisha Campbell both laughed at their friend and his inability to discuss anything that was even remotely gory. For a guy who had been splattered with fake blood, strung upside down from fifty-stories in the air, jumped from burning buildings and tossed off a bridge into the Pacific Ocean, his stomach had no tolerance for talking about the horrifying things Aisha's job as a surgeon forced her to deal with on a daily basis. If it was fake, he could talk about it but the moment it became real was when he lost it.

It was probably because he had seen firsthand the destruction that occurred inside hospitals and emergency rooms. Working on a film, he had broken a bone in his leg two years earlier and while being wheeled through the emergency room, saw a gunshot victim pouring blood all over the place. From that moment on, discussing stuff like that was off limits especially while trying to eat.

"Hey, check that out," Rocky muttered, pointing to a black sedan that had just pulled up on the curb. "Looks like the Men in Black or something."

Adam chuckled at Rocky's pop culture paranoia while continuing to chew on the pieces of cantaloupe and banana in his mouth. Every time the former Red and Blue Ranger saw something even remotely associated with a movie he felt the need to make note of it. Random British guys were instantly Austin Powers regardless of physical appearance so it was only natural when two men in black suits got out of the car that Rocky referenced _Men in Black._

"They're coming over here," Aisha whispered. "Rocky what did you do this time?"

"Nothing," he told her, Aisha returning an unimpressed and unbelieving look. "I swear I didn't. Just because a cop caught me having sex in a Safeway bathroom you think I'm some lifetime criminal or someth…"

"DeSantos? Park? Campbell?" one of the men interrupting Rocky's rant asked, all three nodding. "Good. Come with me."

"Umm…no?" Adam asked in a reply full of sarcasm, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down and pointing to his fruit bowl. "See, I'm eating breakfast and I don't like it when people I don't know interrupt my breakfast. So unless you have a purpose here, I suggest you take a walk."

The two men in suits looked at each other and smiled. As one reached into his jacket, all three at the table got scared looks on their faces, thinking he could possibly be reaching for a weapon. When he pulled out what appeared to be a black leather wallet, they all breathed sighs of relief.

"Agent Adamson, NBMAA," he told them. "You, your friends and your family are in danger. Please come with us."

Looking from Rocky to Aisha, Adam suddenly felt a sting of fear in his chest. Who were these men and what were they talking about?

"You're gonna have to come a little more specific than that if you want us to go with you," Rocky added with confidence. He was a trained fighter, a fifth-degree black belt. These guys, whoever they were, didn't scare him. "Momma always told me not to go with strangers."

"You must be DeSantos. We heard you had a smart mouth," Adamson replied, Rocky beaming with sarcastic pride. "You think this is funny? You think people dying is funny? Well, if you want their blood on your hands, fine. Let's go, Pierce."

With that, the two men spun on their heels and began walking back towards their vehicle. The trio at the table exchanged concerned looks, knowing what they had to do. Adam's film didn't start shooting for a couple more weeks, Aisha had the next two days off and Rocky, owning his own chain of karate schools, never _had_ to go into work. That's what he had employees for. Aisha looked at Adam who slowly nodded his head then turned to face Rocky and got the same reaction from him.

"Wait!" Aisha called out, the two agents turning back around to face them. "We'll go."

"Good. Let's go then," Agent Pierce commanded sternly. "Like we said earlier, everything will be explained when we get back to headquarters."

In unison, all three got up from their seats and tossed some cash on the table, jogging to catch up to the pair of agents.

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_Unknown Location, CA_

_8:41 a.m._

From his spot at his desk, a man with sandy blonde hair typed feverishly on the keyboard resting in front of him. His hands flying over the white keyboard, his eyes quickly made their way across the computer screen, absorbing the last of the information his superiors had sent to him.

Pictures were on the screen, changing every few seconds only to be replaced by another. Accompanying each picture was a small biography on the person being researched. The first picture in question showed a man about six-feet tall with short, spiked brown hair and glasses wearing a lab coat.

_Name: Thomas J. Oliver, Age: 28, 6'0" 174 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Green (MM), White (MM), Red (Z & T), Black (DT), Leader, Residence: Reefside, CA, Profession: High school teacher, Reefside High School_

After Tommy came a picture of a man of close to the same height just a little bit bulkier. He had on navy blue pants with a matching short sleeve button up shirt and was standing over the top of someone who was visibly wounded.

_Name: Jason L. Scott, Age: 28, 5'11" 187 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Red (MM), Gold (Z), Leader, Residence: Angel Grove, CA, Profession: Paramedic_

Coming after Jason was an African-American man. In the black and white snapshot, he was walking through downtown Los Angeles with an African-American female, one hand on the small of her back and the other being used to hold his cell phone to his ear.

_Name: Zachary A. Taylor, Age: 28, 5'10" 165 lbs. African-American male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Black (MM) Residence: Valencia, CA, Profession: Record producer, Mastodon Records_

Following Zack was a photo of a man with dirty blonde hair and glasses. Judging by his appearance, it had to be an old picture. Underneath the picture were the words "Newer Photo Unavailable."

_Name: William J. Cranston, Age: 28, 5'9" 159 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Association: Blue (MM), Technical advisor (Z) Residence: Unknown, Profession: Unknown_

An Asian-American man came next. He was standing on the ledge of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, looking like he was preparing to jump from it into the water below.

_Name: Adam Y. Park, Age: 28, 5'10" 167 lbs. Asian-American male, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Black (MM), Green (Z & T) Residence: Los Angeles, CA, Profession: Actor/Stuntman_

And it went on like that until they had gone through a total of twelve people, ironically starting with Tommy and ending with someone he knew all too well.

_Name: Rockford W. DeSantos. Age: 27, 5'10" 172 lbs. Hispanic-American male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Red (MM), Blue (Z) Residence: varies, primarily the Los Angeles, CA area, Profession: Owner/operator Red Fist Dojo_

_Name: Justin M. Stewart, Age: 22, 5'10" 168 lbs. Caucasian male, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Blue (T) Residence: San Diego, CA, Profession: Student, California State University at San Diego_

_Name: Katherine R. Hillard, Age: 28, 5'6" 114 lbs, Caucasian female, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Association: Pink (MM, Z & T) Residence: New York, NY, Profession: Broadway performer_

_Name: Aisha M. Campbell, Age: 27, 5'4", 124 lbs African-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (MM), Residence: Los Angeles, CA, Profession: Surgeon_

_Name: Trini Kwan, Age: 28, 5'5" 110 lbs. Asian-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (MM), Residence: New York, NY, Profession: Lawyer, Goldstein, Johnson and Jones Law Firm_

_Name: Tanya C. Sloan, Age: 27, 5'6" 116 lbs. African-American female, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown, Association: Yellow (T & Z), Residence: Valencia, CA, Profession: Singer_

_Name: Kimberly A. Hart, Age: 27. 5'2" 101 lbs. Caucasian female, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Brown, Association: Pink (MM), Residence: Reefside, CA, Profession: Owner/operator Reefside Sports Center_

Sighing, he turned off the monitor, pushed his chair away from the desk and got onto his feet. They'd be there shortly, all of them and when they did, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. Well, all but one of them would be arriving shortly, one was already there. After all, he was one of them and the reason they were on their way.

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_Reefside, CA_

_8:49 a.m._

"Alright, class. That's it for today," Tommy told his students who all began to scamper at the bell. "Ms. Hart, I'd still like to speak with you if you have a minute. Don't worry, I'll write you a note for your next class."

The young brunette nodded her head, waiting until the class had cleared out before hesitantly and quietly approaching Tommy's desk. Looking at her, he immediately noticed the uncanny resemblance she shared with her aunt. She had the same petite frame, the same deep brown eyes and that same nervous smile that had made him fall in love.

"What's up, Dr. Oliver?" she asked softly.

"Nothing. Your aunt and I da...were close friends in high school but I haven't heard from her in a long time," Tommy explained, trying to cover up his near slip with a smile. "How is she? Is she doing okay?"

"Yeah, she's good. I live with her now," she answered, ignoring Tommy's flap as he tried to absorb the news. "She took me in when…"

Tears started to fill the eyes of the young girl, Tommy in between maintaining a strictly professional stand or offering some kind of comfort. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue and he would have kept his distance but she was a Hart, after all. Apprehensively, he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Jessica. I'm sorry," Tommy said softly. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories. I just…I just wanted to know how Kimberly was doing."

"I know. You must think I'm a freak breaking down like this," Jessica laughed, wiping at her eyes. "My parents passed away in a car crash a couple years ago. Kim and my dad, her brother, were really close and she promised him she'd take care of me right before he died. We lived in San Francisco for awhile but the city reminded me of them too much so we moved here. Crazy coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry about your parents. God, you look just like your aunt. I bet you get that all the time," Tommy murmured, both of them chuckling as she nodded and wiped at her eyes with her shirt sleeve. "Listen, I don't want to seem weird but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. I know I'm just your teacher but I know how you Hart's operate."

"Thank you. I appreciate that," Jessica replied with a genuine smile. "Do you want me to tell my aunt you teach here? If you guys are old friends I'm sure she'd like to see you. She's always talking about her friends from high school."

"Oh, no, I don't think that's necessary. We haven't talked in so long…" his voice trailed off momentarily, getting an awkward look from Jessica. "Well, yeah, tell her I'm your teacher and that if she has time to give me a call and that I said maybe we could get together for a cup of coffee or something. Here's my number." Tommy scratched out his home number on a piece of scratch paper, wrote her a pass for her next class and gave them to her. "Go on or you'll be really late. First impressions are key. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks again," Jessica said graciously. "I'll remember to remind my aunt know about you. See you tomorrow, Dr. Oliver."

Tommy nodded, laughing to himself as the young woman started to jog out of his classroom. Hearing the door shut, he turned to his computer to check his email since second period was his prep class and, being the first day of school, he had no real work to do. When the door opened a few minutes later, he looked up expecting to see Jessica again, maybe Principal Randall or another faculty member. Instead, he was greeted by two men in black suits.

"Dr. Thomas James Oliver?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah," Tommy answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Agent Adam Reeves. I'm with the NBMAA," he replied, quickly flashing Tommy his badge. "We need you to come with us immediately. Something is happening and we need your…_expertise._"

The emphasis on the last word instantly made Tommy realize that these men new something, something they shouldn't have even had a clue about. How did they know? No one who hadn't been one of them besides Hayley knew their identities.

"Umm…I have class all day guys," Tommy replied in confusion, trying to maintain his composure. "And I don't know what expertise you think I have but I can't help you guys. I'm just a high school science teacher."

"Don't insult our intelligence, Dr. Oliver. We know _exactly _who you are and we've already spoken with your boss, Elise Randall. Your classes have been taken care of for the next few days," Agent Reeves answered. "Now please, follow us. It's a matter of national security."

"Umm…alright, I guess. You guys better have answers," Tommy retorted apprehensively as he began to gather his personal belongings. "Just give me a minute to get my things together.

With his briefcase in hand, the two agents nodded their heads to each other and began to escort Tommy out of his classroom and through the hallway. A few lingering students in the halls gave him concerned looks, especially those who he had had as his students in previous years.

Giving them all reassuring looks and smiles in return, he continued to follow the agents, maintaining a distance of a few feet behind them just in case they tried something and he needed to react. As they reached the front door of the school they hadn't done or said anything else to him. Walking out the door, he looked at his watch just as it struck nine o'clock.

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_Okay, so this is something I have _never_ seen done before, at least not with a Power Rangers story. I've had this idea mulling around in my head for a long time but I never wrote it down because of my other stories. I got terrible writer's block today trying to write for _Don't Ask Me To Be Friends_ and this popped back into my head so I wrote it down. It's a Power Rangers story with a 24 twist. If you haven't watched 24, it's 24 episodes in a season, each episode being an hour of a day, the day being the whole season. Writing in a time table of only an hour makes it a lot harder to write 7 or 8,000 word chapters but I did my best to get this as long as possible. I think the majority of these chapters are going to be somewhere in the 5-6,000 word ranger. Hopefully you guys like it. Your thoughts on this are going to determine whether I stick with it or abandon it so let me know what you think. Talk to you soon._

_WK_


	2. 9:00 am

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

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_The following takes place between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Events occur in real time_

_San Diego, CA_

_9:00 a.m._

The sidewalks in front of San Diego State's main campus were literally packed with hundreds of students trying to make it to their morning classes on time. Being the first week of school since summer vacation, it was mostly incoming freshman still trying to find their way around the unfamiliar campus.

Doing his best to push his way through the crowd of people, 22 year-old Justin Stewart was becoming more and more frustrated with each passing moment. What he wouldn't give to be able to just hop inside of Mountain Blaster and pancake the kids who had been dumb enough to not attend freshman orientation. After all, they had several of them over the summer for a reason.

Incoming freshman were supposed to, but not required to attend one of the many sessions offered for them to get acquainted with the campus. When he had gone to his there had been at least two hundred people in his group. It seemed like, with each year, fewer and fewer kids were taking advantage of the opportunity presented to them. While he was there to learn and get his degree, most of them, in his mind, were just there to party with school being something that they needed to do to be able to maintain the ability to party.

Having been both an orphan and a foster child for quite a while, numerous grants and scholarships had been offered to him but he had turned them all down, the work ethic of being a Ranger forever engrained in his psyche. He worked two part-time jobs to pay for school and living expenses, one at the campus bookstore and another waiting tables at a local restaurant, still managing to balance a full load of classes without ever getting less than a C in any of them.

He was proud of his academic accomplishments but more proud of how he had achieved them, without any outside help except for a tutor here and there. He had relied on no one but himself, the telltale sign of a true Ranger. Well, the telltale sign of Zordon's Rangers anyway.

Truth be told, he wasn't so sure about these new ones. They came and went so fast that, just when he had gotten accustomed to seeing a new team, they were replaced by a new group. Plus, they had all these special powers that Zordon's Rangers hadn't been given. None of them had the ability to manipulate water or turn their skin into a protective shield. Zordon's Rangers had relied on their instinct, intuition and skills before the power even came into play. In his mind, the Rangers these days had it easy.

None of them had had to deal with being a twelve year-old foster child thrust into a world they never wanted to be a part of. They didn't have to cope with the feeling of ostracism that came with being a child surrounded by older and more experienced Rangers but, more than anything, he was thankful for his time as the Blue Turbo Ranger. It had taught him about hard work and self-discipline which kept his focus on his studies instead of frat parties and going out and getting wasted six nights out of the week.

Justin was no prude, he had been to his fair share of parties and social gatherings but he didn't want to be one of those people stuck in college at twenty-six because they had spent four years killing brain cells before deciding to get their act together. He knew how to buckle down when he needed to but knew how to let go just the same. Part of the reason he was so angry and frustrated this morning was because he had chosen to let go the previous night.

Katie Bennington. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about his girlfriend of nearly two years. They had met in his English Lit class during his sophomore year and had started dating shortly thereafter. Recalling the previous night in vivid detail, a wide grin formed on his lips as he continued to struggle through the crowd of people.

Having just gotten out of his 7:50 a.m. Novel to Film class, he was on his way back to the apartment he shared with Katie for a few hours before having to return at one for Military History. After ten minutes of pushing and shoving, he was finally free from the horde of bodies that lined the sidewalk.

Living only five blocks away from the campus, a car was less than an economical choice for him considering that both the restaurant and the campus bookstore were within walking distance of his apartment. Plus, he liked the exercise and the only time he ever needed to go anywhere further than work or school was if he was going out with Katie and she had a car for that.

He was only a little over two blocks away from his apartment and had just passed a row of parked cars before entering the crosswalk and making his way across the street. When a black sedan pulled out of its' parking space and began to slowly creep behind him, he didn't even notice it. The loud electric and bass guitars coupled with the banging of drums and James Hetfield's grunting voice on Metallica's_Black_ _Album_ coming through the ear buds of his iPod was enough to distract him from just about anything outside of gunshots or an earthquake.

Digging into the pocket of his khaki cargo shorts, he extracted his cell phone to check the time. It was 9:10. He thought momentarily about sending Katie a text message but, only a few minutes away from the apartment building, he decided against it and moved to return his cell phone to his pocket. It was then, when he turned his head just slightly, that he noticed the car that had been following him moving rather slowly.

His skills as a Ranger coming back to him, he noticed the tinted windows and government issued license plates in less than the two seconds that his eyes had been locked on the vehicle. Knowing that they had been seen, the car came to a stop and two men immediately emerged from it, leaving the vehicle parked right there in the middle of the street. Looking at the men in black suits, he froze somewhere in between deciding to make a run for it or stay and fight.

He chose the latter and threw his royal blue backpack down onto the sidewalk before dropping into a defensive stance, one of the many that Rocky had taught him when he had volunteered at Little Angel's Haven, the orphanage Justin had lived in as a child. The men simply laughed at his fighting stance and, as one reached into the inner pocket on his suit jacket, Justin instantly became nervous. Tommy, Rocky and Adam had trained him well and he could fight no doubt but he knew he was no match against a gun. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when the man pulled out a badge and showed it to him.

"Justin Stewart?" he asked.

"Yeah," Justin answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Agent Adam Stern. I'm with the NBMAA," Agent Stern replied, ignoring the confused expression Justin was now wearing. "We didn't mean to startle you. I assure you we mean no harm but we do have strict instructions to bring you back with us to headquarters by any means necessary. So, as the old saying goes, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. The choice is yours."

"What and where is headquarters?" Justin asked, not really wanting to fight two men who were much bigger than he was. "And why do you need me? I'm just a college kid."

"Mr. Stewart, thousands, if not millions, of lives are at risk including those of your friends and family. Myself and Agent Berger are with a government agency trying to stop these attacks from occurring," Agent Stern answered as Justin simply tried to absorb the information. "The fact of the matter is that we need your help. As we speak, eleven of your _friends_ are being rounded up and brought to headquarters."

"Okay but you still haven't answered my question," Justin replied hesitantly. "Why do you need me? Like I said before, I'm just a college kid."

The two men looked at each other, rolled their eyes and grinned before turning their attention back to Justin who was looking more and more uncomfortable with each passing second.

"Mr. Stewart, we know about your past and we know about your friends," Agent Berger spoke for the first time. Justin's mouth fell open in shock at what he was being told. "But we don't have time to stand here and talk with you all day. So will you come peacefully?"

Looking at them, Justin could swear that Agent Berger was flexing his muscles in an attempt to make his decision easier for him. Outweighed, outnumbered and not liking his chances against them very much, he nodded his head and grabbed his backpack off of the sidewalk.

"Can I call my girlfriend and tell her I won't be coming home?" Justin asked. "She has a tendency to worry if she doesn't know exactly where I am."

"You can call her and tell her you won't be coming home but you can't tell her what you're doing," Agent Stern answered, ironically, sternly. "This operation is top secret and extremely classified. Even the President doesn't know about this yet."

Nodding his head, Justin followed the two agents back to the car, climbing into the backseat as Agent Berger held the door open for him. Thinking of a lie to cover his tracks, he brought his phone to his ear as the car quickly pulled back into traffic. Relegated to the back seat, Justin could only watch as they passed by his apartment building just as Katie's voice reached his ear.

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_Angel Grove, CA_

_9:17 a.m._

A white sheet was currently in the process of being pulled over the body of a middle aged man in the center of one of Angel Grove's busiest streets, backing up the morning traffic for miles. In a city that had once been essentially free of all non-monster related violence, Angel Grove was increasingly becoming just like most cities in America.

With no Power Rangers around to defend it, prospective criminals had no one to fear except for the police and everyone knows the police have never been able to stop people from entering a life of crime. They could only hope to stop them once it started and before it got out of control.

Obviously, they hadn't stopped this particular criminal in time. The man whose body was being covered had been killed simply because he had tried to resist when he had been dragged into an alley in broad daylight. When the gun had been pressed to his temple he immediately stopped resisting and gave in to the mugger's demands for cash and jewelry but his mind had already been made up. A single shot to the man's head right after handing over all his money had killed him instantly.

Shaking his head at the sight, Jason let out a grunt as he and Elizabeth lifted the stretcher with the corpse into the back of the ambulance._At least the mugger hadn't gotten away with it _Jason thought to himself, not wanting to express his eye for an eye stance to his partner.

Eight-thirty in the morning, when the sun was shining brightly and people were on the streets, was a stupid time for a criminal to try anything, especially shooting someone. The police had found him running through back alleys, hopping over chain link fences and cut him off in their squad cars. In a moment of panic, the mugger initiated a fire fight with the police that had lasted only a few seconds and ended with him on the ground, three bullets lodged in his chest and no officers seriously harmed. One had been hit in the stomach but his vest had stopped the bullet, knocking the wind out of him but doing no more damage than that.

"You got this from here, guys?" one of the officers on the scene asked.

"Yeah. We can take care of it," Jason answered. "We were here first so I guess we have to file the report, huh?"

"Luck of the draw," the same officer returned with a grin, shrugging his shoulders before he and his partner made their way back to the squad car.

As the police cars pulled away, Jason literally had one foot in the ambulance when a firm hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back onto the ground. He spun around and found himself staring at a man in a black suit wearing an odd grin on his face. Always being the act first, ask questions later type, Jason pushed the man away and lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Preoccupied with the man in front of him, he hadn't seen another creep up behind him. A pair of hands wrapped around his arms and held him back while he struggled to break free from the confinement of the man's grasp.

"Mr. Scott, I suggest you calm down before you do something you're going to regret," the first man said to him.

Jason didn't pay him a lick of attention and crouched down into a squat, launching himself into a back flip and landing behind the second man. A push to his chest sent the man barreling into his partner, both of them collapsing onto the asphalt. He noticed Liz in the van, paralyzed with fear and gave her a reassuring smile before approaching the men.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Jason demanded, trying not to grin as the men pushed themselves to their feet and dusted their suits off.

When one reached into his suit pocket, Jason feared the worst and retaliated with a punch that, if it had landed, would have surely broken the man's jaw. Luckily for him, he ducked just in time and the punch met nothing but air. Unluckily for Jason, his wild attempt at a haymaker opened him up for a punch that connected with his kidneys and he fell to his knees.

Spitting blood, he looked up right as Liz came running towards them. He tried to find his voice to keep her back but the punch had knocked the wind out of him and he was forced to watch as one of the men grabbed her and threw her up against the van. Hitting her head against the door, she instantly slumped to the ground.

Seeing his partner attacked like that gave Jason a newfound second wind. He got to his feet and quickly formulated a plan instead of just going in wildly like he had moments earlier. A side kick to the chest sent one of the men flying against the van and Jason spun around just in time to duck the oncoming punch from the man's partner. It connected, just not with Jason like it had been intended to.

The sound of broken glass rang in his ears as the man extracted his now bloody hand from the place where the ambulance's passenger side window had once been. Jumping back, Jason shook his head after narrowly avoiding a spin kick from the same man.

"These guys don't quit," Jason muttered quietly, preparing to attack once more.

He was moving in for another strike when the man he had kicked against the ambulance pulled out his badge and flashed it at him. Immediately, Jason stood up from his defensive stance and moved to help the man onto his feet. Being a paramedic, he worked closely with quite a few law enforcement agencies and, though tension often arose between some of them, they all respected each other immensely.

"You could have just shown me that from the start," Jason said calmly as the man's partner moved to stand at his side. "Hey, look. I'm sorry about that. I thought you were going for a gun."

"Mr. Scott, if I had intended to shoot you, you'd be dead already," the first man replied. "My name is Agent Ronald Black. This is my partner, Agent Brody. We're with the NBMAA. We need you to come with us immediately."

"Umm…why?" Jason asked in confusion. "What's going on?"

"We aren't at liberty to discuss that information at this time," Agent Brody answered. "All we can tell you is that the country is in grave danger and we need your help. Your friends are already en route to our headquarters. From there you will be briefed and given your assignments. I'm sorry, but we know no more than that."

"My friends? You mean…" Jason asked, the realization of what they were implying beginning to settle in on him. He looked up at the agents and they simply nodded their heads, confirming his thought process for him. "How do you know about that?"

"We know a lot about you and your friends, Mr. Scott. The lives of many are at stake today and you and your friends are the only ones who can stop it," Agent Black replied. "Now please, come with us. We don't have time for formalities."

Apprehensively, Jason nodded his head after a moment or two of careful deliberation and moved towards Liz who was just starting to stir again from her spot on the ground. Dropping onto one knee, Jason put his arm around her and helped pull her into a sitting position, supporting her back against the van.

"Liz, these men need my help. I'm going to go with them," Jason said quietly, pointing to the agents standing a few feet away. "Can you make it back to the station on your own?"

"They sure have a nice way of showing they need help," Liz muttered with a bitter smile, pushing herself up onto her feet with a groan. Jason gave her a concerned look but she waved it off, albeit with quite a bit of pain. "I'll be fine. What do you want me to tell Mike?"

"Just make something up. I'm sure you can come up with a decent excuse," Jason replied, referring to their boss who seemed to have a thing for Liz. Going with the men, Jason knew he was leaving her alone and potentially opening her up for Mike's incessant badgering but he didn't see another option. "I have to go now, though. I'll call you as soon as I can."

Liz could only nod her head, leaning against the ambulance and grabbing her arm, the pain from being thrown against it a few minutes earlier still very real and active. She watched Jason following the men intently, groaning from the pain as he got into the back of a black sedan. Turning around in the back seat, Jason gave her his best comforting and reassuring smile along with a wave, turning back around just as the car sped off.

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_California Highway 101_

_9:26 a.m._

The government issued black sedan carrying Tommy Oliver flew down the highway at speeds reaching close to ninety miles per hour, maybe even a little bit more than that. Bobbing in and out of traffic, Tommy had been taken from the car pool lane across five more lanes and onto the shoulder in less than five seconds. Gripping the handle above the window tightly, he could feel the color draining from his face with each jerking movement from Agent Reeves.

They had left Reefside High just after nine o'clock and had been driving for nearly a half hour with no sign of stopping, at least not anytime soon that is. Tommy could hear the sound of horns honking every time they cut a car off or weaved in and out of traffic but the agents were, apparently, oblivious to the onslaught of noise being directed at them.

Tommy didn't mind driving at high speeds, he had driven Red Lightning and raced for his uncle's stock car team after all but he much preferred to be behind the wheel and in control than in the back seat holding on to the "oh shit bar" for dear life. At the sight of brake lights up ahead, he let out a gasp as Agent Reeves slammed on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt, narrowly avoiding a collision with the white Dodge Durango stopped in front of them.

"Son of a bitch," Agent Reeves muttered to no one in particular. "We don't have time for this crap. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Five miles away and this shit happens. Director Cranston's gonna be pissed."

The eyes on Tommy's face widened at the mention of the name Cranston but he chose to keep his mouth shut and not ask questions. _Billy?_ he thought to himself. _I wonder what he has to do with all of this? Sounds like he's in charge or at least important if he's got these guys that worried._

Looking out the front window, all three men noticed something rather frightening happening off in the distance. Quickly getting closer to them, two men were jumping from car to car, denting hoods and smashing windows without hesitation. They looked mad, hell bent on causing as much destruction and damage as possible. Turning his head, Agent Reeves looked at his partner who still hadn't been named and nodded his head before looking back at Tommy.

"Stay here and stay down. They're here for us," Agent Reeves ordered, pulling the key from the ignition and handing it to Tommy. "If something happens, find a way to get moving again and hit the red button on the gear shift. You can't let yourself be caught under any circumstances."

"Wait, where are you going?" Tommy asked, partially fearful of what could potentially happen. "What does the red button do?"

"Just do it, dammit!" the unnamed agent replied.

Both agents got out of the car, slamming the doors behind them as they each pulled out what appeared to be a standard gun. The first shot that Agent Reeves fired however, told Tommy they weren't just using a typical gun and the result of the shot told him they weren't shooting at typical people either. No bullets came from the gun, instead a pinkish colored ball of energy erupted from it with a loud bang connecting with the leg on one of their targets.

Tommy had expected the injured man to go down and he did. What he wasn't expecting was for his leg to literally explode and completely disintegrate before he fell to the ground. From his position laying on the back seat, he lost sight of him once he hit the ground but a horrified look came over him when, less than ten

seconds later, he pushed himself back onto his feet, both legs completely intact as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell?" Tommy muttered to himself.

"Do you have any idea how much that stings?!" the man roared so loud that it shook the vehicles parked around them. "You're gonna pay for that, Reeves!"

Referring to Agent Reeves by name Tommy came to the obvious conclusion that the two men must have known each other prior to this meeting. His instincts as a Ranger taking over, Tommy moved to open the door to at least try and help but found that he was locked in the car. Throwing his elbow against the window, he bit his tongue to prevent screaming in pain when it didn't break like he had expected it to. The recoil of his elbow bouncing against the window sent his closed fist flying back at his face, connecting right with his jaw.

"Mother fu..." Tommy started, silencing himself and ducking back down when the man turned his gaze towards the car.

He had no way out and could only watch as the previously legless man tossed another guy off of his motorcycle, lifted it high in the air and threw it at Agent Reeves.

It connected with a sickening thud, knocking Agent Reeves to the ground and pinning him underneath it. As the man who obviously wasn't just a man approached the wounded agent, Reeves struggled to reach for his weapon that was lying a few feet away from him, just barely out of his reach. Effortlessly, he kicked the motorcycle away from Agent Reeves, grabbed him by his shirt collar and lifted him into the air.

"Time to say goodbye," he muttered, a thick brown spike emerging from his forearm.

With one swift motion he plunged the spike into the neck of Agent Reeves, blood pouring from the entry wound as the sharp weapon retracted back into his arm with a disgusting noise that sounded like a combination of someone slurping soup and the popping noise of a suction cup being pulled off of a piece of glass.

Groaning, Tommy suddenly felt the urge to vomit. With his hand covering his mouth he managed to force the regurgitation back down but still leaving behind the horrible and lingering taste of his breakfast in his mouth for him to deal with.

People were now out of their cars, running in panic and fear in every possible direction. A few that came to close to the man were savagely tossed aside without a second glance. Scanning the crowd for the other agent, Tommy finally noticed him on the other side of the highway. Being on an overpass, he was forced to watch a single kick to the agent's chest sending him flying over the steel barricade, plummeting to his imminent death hundreds of feet below.

Looking up, he noticed the two men were now approaching the vehicle once more. Agent Reeve's parting words returning to him, he climbed into the driver's seat and forced the key into the ignition. Luckily, they had been in the far right lane or attempting to get away would have been impossible. With careful maneuvering, he noticed he could probably take the shoulder until he reached the off ramp that was a little over half a mile away.

Stepping on the gas pedal, Tommy pulled the car onto the shoulder and cringed at the sound of metal meeting metal as the passenger side of the car scraped against the steel guardrail on his right. Checking all his mirrors and blind spots he found that the pair of men were no longer in the middle of the street where they had been before he drove off. In fact, he couldn't seem to locate either one of them at all.

Turning his head back around, the off ramp getting closer and closer, two pairs of legs landed on the hood of the car leaving large dents where their feet had connected with the hood. Tommy yelled a few choice curse words when one of them tried to punch in the window and was met with negative results. With cars on his left and the guardrail on his right he couldn't drive nearly as fast as he needed to. If he could just get to the off ramp though, he could increase his speed and put some of those driving skills he had learned behind the wheel of Red Lightning to the test.

Unable to see out the body-blocked windshield, he silently prayed that he could get the car to the exit ramp before they managed to get to him. His eyes grew big with fear when he noticed the spike once again coming out of the man's forearm. He jabbed it at the window, piercing the glass as Tommy moved his head to the side, the sharp point of the spike missing his head by inches and sticking itself into the leather head rest instead of his face.

Shivers went up his spine when the spike retracted back with the same nausea inducing noise it had made after plunging into Agent Reeve's neck minutes earlier. With the exit ramp just a few seconds away, Tommy made a snap decision and threw his foot onto the accelerator. The sudden increase in speed rattled the two attackers, tossing one from the hood but the other managed to hang on.

The car scraped more violently with the increased speed sending off bright sparks when the metal touched the cars and guardrail harder. Letting out a "holy shit," Tommy watched in his rearview mirror as the driver side mirror hit the back of a semi-truck and went flying through the air, breaking the windshield on a car at least two hundred feet back.

Shaking his head, he looked back and found that he was on the off ramp now but still had the one man to contend with. Reaching for the emergency handbrake, his fingers slowly wiggled around it preparing to make their move and, as both feet slammed on the brake pedal, he spun the steering wheel hard to the left and yanked on the handbrake, turning the car in a complete circle that sent the man, or whatever he was, flying off the car.

Without even looking to see where he landed, Tommy released the handbrake and dropped the car into reverse, the rubber on the tires burning against the asphalt as he drove backwards. Popping the handbrake again, he spun the car back around and threw it into drive. One look in his rearview mirror and seeing the men running towards him at ridiculous speeds and actually gaining ground on the sedan, however, told him that he wasn't driving nearly fast enough.

With as much pressure as he could muster, the gas pedal quickly met the carpeted floorboard. Trying to formulate some kind of plan to escape he noticed the red button on the dashboard and remembered what Agent Reeves had told him. With his left hand on the steering wheel he reached out with his right hand, took a deep breath and pushed the button in.

_Activating Thrusters_ a robotic female voice responded.

"Thrusters? Oh shit," Tommy muttered, screaming like a little girl as the car went from eighty miles per hour to close to two-hundred and fifty in less than three seconds. "Son of a biiiiiiiiiiiii…!"

Gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles, he found that the car was approaching an intersection and realized he wasn't going to have time to stop at the red light up ahead. Even if he managed to avoid the cars coming on his right and left the off ramp ended with only turn lanes in either direction and another steel guardrail straight ahead that overlooked the highway below.

"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die," he repeated to himself with sweaty palms. "I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. Please God, don't let me die. I swear I'll never complain about my job again just don't let me die."

Closing his eyes, he braced himself as the car entered traffic. Colliding with the barricade, he narrowly avoided collisions with the three lanes of traffic in each direction. Flying through the air for a few seconds, the tires slammed against the asphalt, throwing his head into the ceiling as he bounced around but otherwise landing perfectly in a clear exit lane on the right.

"You gotta be shitting me? I need to get me one of these."

_Automatic Driver established. Destination, four-point-five miles northeast. Arrival time, seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds._

Reaching out to grab the steering wheel, he tried to maneuver the car but found that the wheel was locked and wasn't budging regardless of how much force he tried to apply to it. Shaking his head, he laid it against the head rest and, noticing the hole in it, he actually started to laugh.

"That's what I'm talking 'bout, baby!" he yelled, pounding his fist excitedly against the steering wheel. "Yeeee-haw! Can't touch this one, suckers! Tommy Oliver is back, baby!"

The green signs above the road telling him what city he was approaching, Tommy shook his head in disbelief when he read the words "Angel Grove." He hadn't been to Angel Grove since the Red Ranger mission in 2001 and for good reason, too. The city had a tendency to do nothing more than resurrect painful memories inside of him.

With the robotic voice telling him he was now two miles and four minutes away from his destination along with the very clear view he had at the mountains looming in the distance, he suddenly felt sick in the stomach. He had the distinct feeling that he knew exactly where the car was headed and he didn't like it, not one bit.

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_Unknown Location, CA_

_9:46 a.m._

Seated on a black leather couch in what appeared to be a rather comfortable and well furnished holding room, Jason was alone in the room. There were three couches big enough for three or four people, two good sized plush chairs and a television on one side with a rather large round table surrounded by black leather office chairs on the other side.

He had gotten there just a few minutes earlier and had taken it upon himself to make himself at home. Having his breakfast interrupted by the shooting, the box of donuts and the pot of coffee on the counter had looked rather inviting to him. With the news playing on the television in front of him, Jason took a bite of his apple fritter and shook his head at what he was seeing. Destruction was everywhere on Highway 101 where, fifteen minutes earlier, two men were believed to have been killed though only the body of one Adam Reeves had been found.

Unable to watch the chaos occurring in front of him, he turned off the television just as the door he had been led through five minutes prior opened up again. Four bodies, still covered in the shadows, entered the room as a hand reached out and slammed the door behind them, locking all five people inside. A smile crept across Jason's face when they stepped out into the light and he saw Adam, Aisha, Justin and Rocky.

"Jason?" Adam asked hesitantly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Jason replied, getting up from the couch to greet them. He shook hands with the men and gave Aisha a huge bear hug. "Some guys from this group called the NBMAA or something like that told me that the country was in danger and that they needed my help. I take it you got the same spiel?"

"Yeah, we sure did," Aisha replied, noticing Jason's clothes were tattered and trying not to grin. "But we went quietly. You look like you put up some resistance."

Chuckling, Jason nodded his head, gingerly rubbing the spot on his side where Agent Brody's punch had connected. The shot to his kidneys had left him spitting blood for the whole drive to wherever it was they were. No one had told him anything and he still had no clue where here was exactly. All he knew was that they had only driven for ten, maybe fifteen minutes and that that wasn't enough time to get very far outside of Angel Grove.

"Do you guys have any idea where we are?" Jason asked the group.

"Nope," Rocky answered, the other three shaking their heads with him. "Me, Adam and 'Sha were just having breakfast when they found us and brought us here. We just ran into Justin a few minutes ago. Have you heard anything man?"

"I was walking home from school to see my girlfriend. A black car pulled up next to me and two guys in black suits jumped out," Justin answered with a shoulder shrug. "They told me the same thing they told all of you. Did they blindfold all of you a few miles before you got here?"

Adam, Aisha, Jason and Rocky all nodded their heads in unison. Once they had gotten with in a specified distance of their final destination, they had all been blindfolded so that they didn't know where they were going. Once inside the building, their blindfolds were removed but the basic white walls, the lack of windows and the boring interior design of the place didn't exactly give much away in the realm of potential locations.

Even at twelve years old though, Justin had been rather observant and had pretty much replaced Billy as the brains of the team when he was forced to move to Aquitar. When his blindfold had been taken off, he had noticed a set of monitors on one of the walls and caught pictures of a few of the old Rangers on the screens just before Agent Berger had turned them off.

Though he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was, something about the building they were in seemed

familiar to him. It just so happened that the feelings of the four people around him were tantamount to his own. They were all looking around as if they had been there before regardless of unfamiliarity the building presented.

"Hey, Jase, do you have the time?" Rocky asked, interrupting them from their thoughts.

"Yeah," Jason answered, looking at his watch. "It's 9:50, why?"

"No reason," Rocky grinned sheepishly.

Instantly, Adam and Aisha rolled their eyes at him. Ten minutes later meant _The Price is Right_ would come on and they both knew how much Rocky loved the show. During his sophomore year of college he had attended a taping in Los Angeles with Adam and, by some sick stroke of luck, the pair had ended up in the Showcase against each other.

Knowing that Adam had the better stuff in his showcase, Rocky intentionally over bid on his items so that Adam could win and made his friend take him on his seven day Mexican cruise with him for it. He didn't need a grandfather clock or a dinette set and Vespa's, in his mind, were gay. Plus, the big screen TV he had won during the bidding, the car won while playing Plinko and the prospect of a cruise through Mexico during spring break with the 6,000 dollars he won from spinning the wheel during the Showcase Showdown had been more than worth losing for.

"So what do we do now?" Justin asked, breaking the silence.

"The guys who brought me in said the others were on their way," Jason replied. "I don't know if they're bringing everyone but Tommy lives in Reefside and Zack and Tanya work together in Valencia so they should be here soon. Trini and Kat live in New York though. It's gonna be at least five or six hours if not more before they even get to California."

"What about Billy and Kim?" Adam interjected. "Have any of you guys heard from them? I haven't talked to Billy since right before he left for Aquitar and Kim since the karate tournament after Murianthis."

All four shook their heads in reply. No one had spoken to Billy at all since he had left Earth over a decade prior in order to save his own life and no one even talked about Kim anymore. After the incident on Murianthis she had pushed herself as far away from the Ranger life as possible, alienating her friends in the process. Resolved to wait for whoever was coming, the group of five made their way back to the couches with Rocky grabbing the remote control and hugging it like his life depended on it.

Adam, Aisha and Rocky obviously stayed in close contact but the others were a different story. They all knew what each other was doing but that was about as far as it went and they were no longer the close knit group of friends that they had been in high school. Jason was still close with Tommy, the brotherly bond between that they shared seemingly unbreakable and he still talked with Trini and saw Zack from time to time but, more or less, Tommy was the only one who knew everything because he insisted on keeping up with everyone. He was a leader at heart and would be one until the day he died and they knew that so he became the one that the others went to when they wanted information or needed to get in contact with someone.

It was almost sad the way they had all drifted apart after high school. The ones who had grown up together; Adam, Rocky and Aisha on one hand with Billy, Jason, Kimberly, Trini and Zack on the other sans Billy and Kim who were nowhere to be found stayed in contact but they rarely went outside of their circle. Justin, having been the youngest of the group had only spoken with Tommy and Rocky and even then it was infrequent. Tanya had connections to some of the original Rangers through Zack and Kat talked to Trini every once in a while since they lived in the same city and that was that.

How they had gone from such a close group to barely knowing each other was beyond there line of rationale. Most of them had come to grips with it by saying that they were adults and that things and people change with time but that didn't make it any easier to digest.

None of them liked not knowing what the others were up to. They just didn't have the drive that Tommy did to stay in contact with each other. He had tried, had tried desperately to get them all together if just for a short period of time but work schedules and real life always seemed to throw a wrench in his plans. But with what had already happened and what was going to happen soon, it wouldn't be long before they were all thrown back in the mix together. Everyone in the room, plus Tommy who had just arrived at the front gate and was being checked out thoroughly by security, knew it was only a matter of time before they were reunited with the friends of old.

For the next few minutes the veteran Rangers made the typical small talk that people make when they see someone they hadn't seen in a long time, catching up on what had been going on in each other's lives: work, school, dating, that kind of thing. When the door opened at exactly 9:59 five sets of eyes found themselves wide open staring back at the person who had just walked in. With careful and calculated movements the person made their way toward the group, smiling awkwardly back at them. Jason just looked up and smiled, unable to contain his glee at who they were seeing.

"No way."

_9:59:57...9:59:58...9:59:59..._

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_That's Hour Two in the books for ya. Hope you liked it. With three stories in progress, I just wanted to give you all a heads up on what's going on with everything and, if you're a writer, you'll know what I'm talking about. I don't know when I'm going to get back to _The Things You Don't Know. _It started off as this great idea but I got disillusioned with it during the last few chapters. Maybe that will change, who knows?_ Don't Ask Me to Be _Friends is entirely my pride and joy. If you have read my earlier stories you can see a drastic change and, I think, improvement from then until now. I'm just struggling with it for the moment but I promise that one will not be thrown by the wayside. I'm having too much fun with it to just toss it out. Right now, I'm probably going to focus on this story for a couple weeks until I can think up some stuff for_ DAMTBF. _Starting off as a oneshot, I didn't go into it with any set plan so sometimes ideas are hard to come by. _

_Also, I wanted to let you all know that I'm going to be writing a chapter for _Shawn30's _newest story,_ The Glory Days, in the coming weeks. It's all first person from Kim's POV so who knows, maybe writing in the first person again will strike up some stuff for TTYDK_. Shawn's story is a really good one and I encourage all of you to read it if you haven't already. I should be jumping in some time around Chapter 8 or 9 so be on the lookout for that. Until then, happy reading. Talk to you soon._

_WK_


	3. 10:00 am

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Events occur in real time._

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_Unknown Location, CA_

_10:00 a.m._

Five sets of mouths were hanging wide open at the newest addition to their group. Looking from Rocky to Adam to Aisha and then finally to Justin, Jason literally couldn't believe who he was staring at. He had been expecting Tommy, maybe Zack and Tanya but her? She was the last person he had been expecting to see.

"No way," Jason reiterated, quickly getting up from the couch to approach their new guest. Immediately, his arms found their way around the waist of the beautiful, raven haired, Vietnamese woman that was standing right in front of him. "Trini, I…I can't believe it's you."

"Tell me about it. I still don't know how I got here," Trini replied, returning the embrace with great emotional enthusiasm. She and Jason had always been close, the strongest male and female members of the original Power Team and also the most disciplined martial artists. After holding on to Jason for almost two minutes, she noticed Adam, Aisha and Rocky along with a younger looking man she had never met before. She begrudgingly let go of Jason and moved to greet them. Once she had given hugs to the three who had replaced Jason, Zack and herself, she offered her hand to Justin. "Hi. I don't think I've met you. I'm Trini Kwan."

"Justin Stewart," he said, accepting the handshake with a pleasant smile. "You were the first Yellow Ranger, right?"

Chuckling, Trini nodded her head and smiled at the one-time Blue Turbo Ranger. Almost as soon as she had let go of his hand she found Jason's arm make its' way around her shoulder, leading her towards the couches where _The Price Is Right_ was just starting to play on the television. When the mouths of Rocky and Adam fell wide open, she looked over at them in confusion. It was just a game show, right? Wrong! At least to them it wasn't just a game show.

"Dude," Rocky muttered, lightly slapping Adam on the shoulder. "It's a rerun. This is our episode. This is us!"

"Your episode?" Trini asked, finding herself in a fit of laughter as Aisha tried to explained the story to her. "Adam, you spent seven days on a boat with Rocky? You're a much better person than I am."

With an expression of mock hurt on his face, Rocky folded his arms across his chest and pulled himself into a fetal position on the couch, giving Trini his trademark pouty lips as everyone else laughed at Trini's newfound sense of humor. Looking at his group of friends, it seemed to Jason as if the only thing that had changed were the people cracking the jokes. Even though they hadn't seen each other in years, it was like they were picking up right where they had left off. They were joking and laughing with each other like they hadn't spent the last decade with less than minimal contact and he found himself loving every second of it.

"So, uh, not that this isn't awesome and everything but what are you doing here, Trini?" Aisha asked, taking it upon herself to present the question to Trini that they were all wanting the answer to. "Jason told us that you live in New York now."

"Indeed I do. I'm a lawyer up there now but the firm that I work for is one of the biggest in the country. We represent a lot of high profile clients so I end up traveling quite a bit," Trini explained. "I'm supposed to be in L.A. in three days for a trial so I decided to come early and see my parents in Stone Canyon. I was going to look some of you guys up tomorrow to see if we could together but these two guys in suits showed up at my hotel and brought me here. Speaking of which, do you even know where we are? They put a blindfold on me about three miles before we got here."

The short distance that he had traveled had given Jason the sneaking suspicion that he knew where they were but he didn't want to mention it right away just in case he happened to be wrong. He didn't think he was but he knew if he verbalized his theory it would only get their hopes up. The four males and Aisha all shook their heads in negative reply as Trini shrugged her shoulders, looked over to her left and saw the pink cardboard box of donuts on the counter practically calling her name to take one. Having not had time to eat breakfast before the agents came to her hotel, the container of sweets looked rather inviting even though she hadn't had a donut in years.

"You guys want a donut?" Trini asked, motioning towards the box on the counter.

"They have donuts?" Rocky asked in dumbfounded reply as Trini nodded. Usually he could sniff out food from a mile away whether he liked it or not, though more often than not, he liked it. Like the way they interacted with one another hadn't changed, neither had Rocky's appetite. "Hell yeah, I want a donut. See if they have maple bars, Tri. Mmmmm, I love me some maple bars."

"Boy, you love yourself just about anything as long as it's already dead and cooked," Aisha replied, slapping Rocky playfully on the back of the head. "I swear you'd eat one of us if you had to."

"Only if there was salt and pepper," Rocky retorted, taking the maple bar that Trini had just offered him with a polite smile. The looks on the faces of the others told him they were taking his comment seriously.

"Kidding, guys. I don't do cannibalism. Now watch the show, I'm about to win my big screen."

Rocky kept his eyes trained on the screen, silently mouthing his words to counterpart the ones he was saying on the show as everyone else but Adam rolled their eyes at him. Being the last to bid and thinking everyone else had overbid on the television, he took a gamble by only betting one dollar. Luckily, it paid off for him.

"Dude, you bet a dollar? A freaking dollar?" Justin asked with a grin. "Any of those bets could have been closer and you bet a _dollar_? I'm ashamed to know that you wore the color blue."

"I knew exactly what I was doing so shove it, rookie." Rocky teased through a mouthful of chewed up donut, shooting a playful wink at his younger friend. "Besides, I won the damn thing didn't I? It looks mighty good in my living room too, I might add."

Rolling his eyes, Adam took it upon himself to reach over and push Rocky. He pushed just a little harder than he had intended to do though because, with the force of the push, Rocky soon found himself toppling over the edge of the couch and landing in a heap on the hardwood floor. He let out a loud groan and pushed himself back onto his feet, staring daggers at his best friend. Having spent more than their fare share of time with both of them, Justin and Aisha looked at each other for just a split second then jumped off the couch and took seats next to Jason and Trini just as Rocky made a mad dive at Adam.

His arms wrapped around Adam in a tackle that sent them both onto the floor, their momentum causing them to roll away from the group and towards the only door that led out of the room they were being held in. When they crashed into the wall, Adam found himself on top and sat on Rocky's chest, pinning his arms to the floor.

"Say uncle," Adam demanded, Rocky shaking his head feverishly. "You're not gonna say uncle?"

"Hell no! I don't quit!" Rocky replied, struggling with all his might to get out of the Vulcan Death Grip Adam had applied to his arms.

"Okay, you asked for it," Adam shot back and, with that, he lifted himself up and flopped his butt down on Rocky's chest, everyone laughing as Rocky groaned. He kept jumping up and down, planting onto Rocky who gasped every time Adam landed on top of him. "Ready to give up yet, Rocko?"

"I…said…NOOOO!" Rocky roared, finally shaking an arm free and wrapping it around the back of Adam's neck.

With one of Rocky's arms trapped against the floor and Adam in a very makeshift and improvised headlock, the pair of best friends were stuck in a stalemate. As if some unspoken agreement existed between them, Adam released Rocky's arm and he, in turn, let go of Adam's head, Adam collapsing next to him on the floor.

"You were amazing, baby," Rocky joked, panting to regain his breath. "Best three minutes of my life."

Jason, Justin, Aisha and Trini were all standing around them and laughing now. They had seen the door opening that Rocky and Adam had been too preoccupied to notice and were biding their time until he said something. With a shit eating grin on his face, Jason pointed to the man in the doorway that was staring down at Adam and Rocky.

"Am I interrupting something, ladies?" Tommy asked, biting back the smile that was fighting desperately to cross his face. Not waiting for a reply, he laughed at the blushes both of them were wearing and stepped over them to greet the others.

"Tommy!" Trini shrieked now that his presence had been revealed. She met him halfway, practically jumping into his arms and, with the sheer force of Trini's hug, they almost ended up joining Adam and Rocky on the floor. "Oh, I missed you sooooo much. How are you?"

"I'm good, sweetie," Tommy replied, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "How are you? I thought you were supposed to be in New York."

"I was and then I came here for work and two guys in suits showed up at my hotel and blah, blah, blah you know the rest," Trini retorted with a laugh as Aisha bumped Trini away with the side of her butt, winking at her sister in yellow and then hugged Tommy.

"There's my bear. Still ferocious as ever," Tommy grinned, offering Aisha the same kiss on the cheek he had given Trini. "You still cutting people up?"

"Yep. Still playing with dinosaur bones and pretending to be Ms. Applebee?" Aisha asked, smiling as Tommy nodded his head in reply.

A hand fell on his shoulder, bringing him away from Aisha as he turned his head around to the side to find Justin with his other hand outstretched to him. Tommy took it immediately, shaking it and turning it into that half-hug, shoulder bump thing guys do with each other to show affection without it being overtly awkward.

"How's school, man? San Diego State, right?" Tommy questioned as Justin nodded his head. "Staying out of trouble, I hope."

"I do my best," Justin laughed, letting go of Tommy's hand. "Man, this is awesome. I can't believe we're all here together again. I can't wait to meet Zack."

For as much as Justin had grown and matured into a man, he still held onto some of the boyishness of his younger days when he had been so beyond excited to become a Ranger. Being a Ranger had been the turning point in Justin's life. He finally had friends that, though they didn't always show it, cared about and respected him for who he was. They didn't care that he was an orphan or a foster child just like they hadn't cared when Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Katherine and Tanya had replaced Zack, Trini, Jason, Kim and Aisha.

Well, they did care. It was hard not to. Losing a teammate was always a tough pill to swallow but it never made them ostracize their replacement. Being so young, it took Justin a little bit longer to adjust to the new group of friends and his new life but, with time, he found himself fitting in like he had been there since the beginning when Zordon had summoned five teenagers with attitude to defend the world against the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa. Tommy, Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Katherine and Tanya had all gone through the same awkwardness of being the new people on the team, the same awkwardness that he had had to deal with and having four Rangers around him who had been replacements or extra additions to the team like himself had made things a whole lot easier for him.

And, as Justin stepped back, the moment of truth came because Jason and Tommy were now standing face to face, each wearing equally huge smiles. Neither of them even tried to avoid what they all knew was coming. The pair embraced tightly and, from their sitting positions on the floor, Adam and Rocky let out simultaneous "awwws" at Jason and Tommy's hug.

"It's good to see you, bro," Tommy commented with genuine happiness.

"It's good to see you too, man," Jason added with equal enthusiasm.

Tommy and Jason had always been close. If they were truthful with themselves, they were closer than a lot of blood siblings were. Both had been leaders and both had been extra additions to an already set and comfortable team with Tommy as the Green Ranger and Jason coming back as the Gold Ranger. They just shared a bond that only the best and closest of friends could share and both knew the other would jump in front of a bullet for them if it came down to it.

Their closeness allowed them to work together better than any other pair of Rangers in history had managed to do. Eric Myers and Wesley Collins from Time Force had come very close but, in all actuality, no one could compare to Tommy and Jason. It was that bond that allowed Jason to selflessly step back when Zordon gave control of the team to Tommy when he returned as the White Ranger and it was their bond that made Jason Tommy's first and best choice to take Trey of Triforia's power. Sure, they had tried with Billy because it was convenient but from the moment Jason had gotten on the plane to the peace conference in Switzerland, Tommy had always held out hope that he and Jason would fight side by side again someday. They had gotten to do so on more than one occasion, an opportunity both were eternally thankful for.

The pair let go of their hug a few seconds later and stepped back, turning to look at their friends on the floor who now had their arms around each other's shoulders and were pretending to cry. When Jason and Tommy were around each other it was as if they operated on the same wavelength like two bodies sharing the same brain. So it came as no surprise to Aisha, Justin and Trini when Jason and Tommy pounced on Adam and Rocky, knocking them both back down to the floor.

"Oomph" Rocky and Adam groaned in unison, both of them stuck and unable to move.

Looking at each other and nodding their heads, Jason and Tommy proceeded to give Adam and Rocky the same treatment Adam had given to Rocky just a few minutes before Tommy had shown up.

"Do you guys give up?" Jason began, momentarily ending the odd form of torture. "Or are you thirsty for more?"

"Dude," Tommy retorted, turning to look at Jason before Adam or Rocky could reply. "_Home Alone_? Are you serious? I never thought you'd pull _that_ one out of the archives."

Laughing, Jason shrugged his shoulders as best he could while still keeping Adam pinned down. They both looked down at their handcuffed friends, silently repeating Jason's question to them.

"Alright, alright," Rocky conceded first. "Gerroff me."

"You know what you have to do, Rocko. Say it," Tommy demanded, refusing to let up. Rocky knew the game well and hated what it took to end it. He shook his head back and forth, adamant that he wasn't going to say what Tommy wanted him to say. "My classes are cancelled for the next couple days, pal. I've got nothing but time. I'm not letting go until you say it."

With rosy red cheeks, Rocky turned to look at Aisha as if she could offer him some kind of help or reprieve from his less than pleasant situation. Having seen the game too, she kept her arms folded across her chest wanting to hear Rocky say it just as badly as Tommy did.

"Fine. Be that way. Tommy…you're…," Rocky began, struggling to swallow his pride. Tommy kept his eyes locked on Rocky, hanging on the edge of every word that came from his mouth. "Tommy, you're the best and I'm the worst and I'll never be as good as you. You have gorgeous eyes and will always get better looking girls than me even when you're dead 'cause you're the best Ranger of all time. There, I said it now get off."

Turning to look at each other again, Jason and Tommy burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, collapsing onto the ground and clinging to their sides. Rocky's face was redder than the spandex suit he had worn in years passed so Aisha took it upon herself to approach him and offer him some comfort.

"Come on. Get up you big lug. Jeez, boy, you need to lay off the Cheetos," Aisha laughed, pulling him up onto his feet. "Let's go watch the Showcase Showdown and see you win the big bucks."

The thought of _The Price Is Right_ and seeing himself on television immediately snapped Rocky from his emotional dilemma and erased the bruise his ego had taken as he followed Aisha to the couches with the others, including Adam who had finally managed to get back on his feet, following behind them. Rocky had always seemed to get the brunt of their jokes but he didn't mind that much because he knew it was all just good natured fun. Plus, he would always have the car, big screen television, money and cruise to fall back on and rub in their face and, in his mind, that never got old.

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_In transit on Interstate 5, somewhere between Angel Grove and Reefside, CA_

_10:27 a.m._

He knew. He knew and that was all that needed to be said about it. She had seen Jessica's class schedule when it came in the mail over the summer break, a little over a month before school was set to start. This day, her niece's first day at Reefside High School, had been on her mind for months and it scared her more than it scared Jessica. Freshman, especially in a town where they didn't know anyone, have a lot to be scared about but somehow she managed to supersede that fear.

The fact of the matter was that she had broken down in a fit of tears when she saw the words _Biology: Oliver, T_ on that fateful July day. She and Tommy had had quite a few conversations since Murianthis and that was more than she could say about her other former teammates but each phone call or email became increasingly more difficult for her. But it hadn't always been that way, hadn't always been that hard or that informal. In fact, something had happened a few years prior that had brought them back together and made them close once again.

Every time she had seen a news report with the Dino Rangers or heard someone mention Angel Grove it took her back to her youth which brought about the, self-admitted, worst mistake she had ever made and not for reasons you would think, either. She didn't regret breaking up with Tommy, maybe the way she did it and the effect she knew it had on him but not the action itself. At the time it had been what she wanted and it had seemed like the right thing to do, at least for her.

There had been another guy just like she had told him and he had reminded her of Tommy just like she had told him. In fact, the physical similarities between the pair of men were uncanny.

Like Tommy, Jeffrey Hicks was a martial artist. He was also, like Kim, a hopeful for the Pan Global Games. Long brown hair, deep chocolate colored eyes, a muscular physique and a smile that melted her heart the first time she saw it but that was where the similarities between them stopped. What they shared in parallel looks and interests were erased by the way Jeff treated her.

It never got physical but she had been fearful on numerous occasions, often times cowering at the simplest of movements from him. He was two years older and far more experienced than she. Tommy had been her only serious boyfriend and even then their displays of affection had been minimal; a hug here and there, a gentle touch of an arm, a hand on a shoulder or, on extremely rare occasions, a single, soft, simple kiss.

Jeff had practically forced her into a physical relationship with him, something she truly hadn't been ready for at the time. She had put it off for months after they had started seeing each other and after she had sent the letter to Tommy. The truth was that she was afraid that, by not giving in to Jeff, it would only push him away and, after breaking up with Tommy and destroying their relationship, she didn't think she could deal with being alone.

The moment Jeff climbed on top of her and took her virginity was the moment he knew that he was in control. If she had caved in to something as serious as giving up her virginity, he knew that there were very few boundaries he could push and not get away with. He treated her like dirt and she took it rolling over.

They would regularly go days without speaking to each other regardless of how hard Kim tried to make things work between them. Often times he'd just show up for a quickie and leave like he didn't even know her. She took every bit of it because being with Jeff meant she hadn't broken up with Tommy for no reason. It was only a night of infidelity that made her finally swallow her pride and walk away.

One night after a long day of school and gymnastics practice she had decided to go to Jeff's apartment and surprise him by cooking dinner for him, another one of her many attempts to make their relationship meaningful. Walking through the halls of his apartment building she heard Jeff screaming and thought he might be in trouble. Finding his door locked, she literally kicked it in and barged into the apartment only to find Jeff on the couch, laying on his back with a pretty blonde woman on top bouncing up and down on him.

She dropped the bag of groceries with tears in her eyes and sprinted out of the building feeling like she had been completely used and, sadly, she had been. He didn't even go after her or try to come up with an excuse for his actions. Still retaining her innocence from home, the thought of a man cheating on her had never once entered her mind before that day. The reality of the situation was that Jeff had been cheating on her long before she had given her virginity to him and had continued to do so long after.

For days and weeks after that she cried, cried long into the night about her misfortunes. It wasn't until Jason had come to visit her in Florida and suggested a return to Angel Grove that things actually started to look up for her. Maybe Tommy was still single. Maybe he'd give her another chance. Of course, things didn't work out that way for her. Why would they? She knew knew she didn't deserve his compassion or feelings.

She and Jason had been captured by Divatox during their scuba diving trip, sacrificed to Maligore's pit and turned against the only people she knew she could ever fully trust. But even while being evil, the way Tommy had looked at her on Murianthis had, deep down beneath the walls of the spell, given her hope that there was still something between them. Then, after winning the karate tournament with Jason and Adam to save Little Angel's Haven, he had run into Katherine's outstretched arms without so much as a look in her direction. He was still bitter over their breakup and she didn't blame him for that, couldn't blame him for that.

Returning to Florida alone and single, she competed in the Pan Global Games and had done extremely well with two gold medals, a silver and a bronze to her name. Unfortunately, her dreams of reaching the Olympics were crushed a little over a year later.

Sitting in the back seat of a black sedan with two men in suits riding in the front seat she found herself staring down at her arms like she had done many times before. The remnants of scars and healed wounds stood as a living testament to the only man who had ever treated her right. Maybe it was her small stature that made her such an inviting target for jerks and jackasses. Or maybe it was because, after what she had done to Tommy, she didn't feel like she deserved a good man. Still staring at her arms, she knew that Tommy never would have done the things to her that Erik Gross had done to her.

Like most relationships did, theirs started out quite normally. They went on a few casual dates and he treated her well in the beginning but she had learned her lesson from Jeff and had her guard up. When he couldn't break her walls down and get her to sleep with him, he broke something else instead. That night, the night her hopes and dreams had been destroyed, she could still recall with the most vivid of details.

Knowing that their relationship wasn't going to work out, she had put off their last few dates trying to muster up the courage to call things off. When he came knocking at her apartment door one night she let him in thinking that it was a sign to end their relationship right then and there. The only problem was that he had come with a completely different agenda on his mind.

From the opposite end of her small couch, as far away from Erik as possible, she tensed up when he tried to make his move and "seal the deal." But she wasn't about to let that happen, not after what had happened with Jeff. He tried to force it and she fought back, landing a swift kick right in his groin. With only one phone in her apartment, she sprinted into the kitchen and had dialed a 'nine" and a "one." Her finger was moving down on the final "one" when Erik snatched the phone out of her hand and threw it onto the linoleum floor, smashing it in the process.

She remembered being forced into the corner of the kitchen counter right in front of the small wooden box that held her steak and butcher knives. Reaching back, she tried to grab one of them to defend herself but Erik was too fast for her. He punched her once in the stomach, knocking her to her knees and then pushed her to the ground. Once she was on her back, he then proceeded to stomp a mud hole into her right leg until he was sure that it had been broken in more than a few places. When he was satisfied with his job on her right leg he moved to the left one and gave it the same attack, all the while ignoring Kim's tears, screams and pleads for mercy.

He slapped her hard across the face, grabbed a knife from the box, put it against her neck and told her to shut up or he'd kill her. Biting back her emotions, she fell silent and didn't say a word when he used the knife to cut deep into her arms. Dragging her from the kitchen back to the couch, blood spilling everywhere, he climbed on top of her, ready to get what he came for. Luckily for her, some of her neighbors had heard her screaming and had come to check on her.

Knowing full well what would happen if he got caught, Erik dropped the knife and immediately ran out of the room through the sliding glass door that led to her balcony. He jumped from the second floor ledge onto the grass below and took off through the parking lot while she screamed out in pain when she was sure that he was gone, silently hoping that whoever was out there in the hallway would just break the locked door down and barge in. Her wish was granted and the two men who lived across the hall came plowing into the room, using lowered shoulders to rip the door from its' hinges. The fact that two gay men did that to her door put aside any stereotypes she may have had about men of alternate sexuality and the stigmatism of femininity that came with it.

Waking up in a hospital room the next morning with the doctors telling her that she was lucky to be alive and that she may never walk again, she lost it at the realization that she would never get to be an Olympic gymnast. But, for all the negativity in her life, she was resilient. She underwent months of physical therapy and eventually regained full use of her legs, the bruises disappeared and the cuts would eventually heal with time. She'd still have scars but she was eternally thankful because it definitely could have ended up a lot worse. Not being able to be a gymnast anymore was a small price to pay in avoidance of her place in a coffin and a six-foot deep hole in the ground which could have easily been her position if not for her neighbors.

Staring up at the white ceiling in her hospital room two days after her attack, she found herself only wanting one person to be there with her. She surprised herself when she picked up the phone next to her bed and called Tommy in California to tell him what happened. What was more surprising was that, when he hung up the phone, he called an airline, booked a flight and showed up at her hospital room just nine hours later with flowers and a big white teddy bear for her.

They spent hours upon hours just talking about non-important things, anything to keep her mind off of what had happened to her. The moment she had called him in California to explain her story all his ill feelings towards her went out the window. But what she hadn't known when she called him was that he still had strong feelings for her. Not the feelings that he shared with the other female Rangers but the feelings for someone he knew he could never live without. Though neither had ever verbally admitted their love to each other when they had dated, it was an unspeakable truth that they had indeed been in love.

When he told her he wanted another chance with her, tears filled her eyes as she shook her head, unable to verbally tell him no. She knew Tommy would never do the things to her that Jeff and Erik had done but another relationship was the last thing she needed at that time. She was just too vulnerable and too hurt, both physically and emotionally to make it work then. Thankfully, Tommy understood that. He stood by her side when she went through physical therapy and even lost a semesters worth of college to move in to her apartment in Florida and be there for her just as a friend. The tiny twin sized bed in the closet of a guest bedroom wasn't exactly comfortable but he made it work for her sake.

Then, after spending a little over six months in the Sunshine State, Tommy got a call from Andros in the early months of 2000 in regards to General Venjix and the remains of the Machine Empire. Though the group of Red Rangers wouldn't engage Venjix and his allies until the end of 2002, it took over two years of work to track them and establish connections with the other Rangers. He didn't want to go, didn't want to leave her alone in Florida but she had made him, saying it was his destiny to save the world. She wished him luck, gave him the promise of a friendship when he came back and watched him walk out of her apartment. He was sad to leave but she was heartbroken to watch him go.

Kim had done to him exactly what he had done to her when Günter Schmidt had approached her about moving to Florida to train for the Pan Global's. Now she understood how hard and how heart wrenching it must have been on him to tell the person he loved to leave and do something bigger.

In the months following her attack, Erik had been arrested and incarcerated and, though she hadn't expected it, she had found herself falling for Tommy all over again. The patience he showed with her as she struggled to walk again, the care he presented by going to every single one of her physical therapy sessions without complaint and the comfort he offered by holding her long into the night when she woke up crying from constant nightmares never once trying to pressure her or make a move, they were all things that were pushing her towards genuinely thinking about giving it a second chance with him.

She knew he'd never hurt her the way her last two boyfriends had and that was comforting but then he was gone and she was the reason for his leaving. Just like she would have stayed in Angel Grove if he had asked her to, he would have gladly stayed in Florida if she had requested it of him and, deep down, she knew that. She just couldn't bring herself to be selfish when the world needed him no matter how much she wanted to tell him to stay with her. Not breaking up with him the first time but letting Tommy go a second time, _that _was the worst mistake of her life.

There's an old saying that goes: Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. In her mind, Tommy was a combination of all three. He had been born a great person and would have still been great if he hadn't been a Ranger. He achieved greatness through his work in paleontology and with the Rangers long after he had retired and the thrusting of greatness upon him had come when Jason had asked him to join the team after breaking the spell Rita had placed on him, making him her evil Green Ranger.

She wanted him to be great but she wanted him to be great with her not with Jason and eight guys she'd never met before. Unfortunately, the world needed a hero and she knew that. That was, and always would be, Tommy's contribution to the world. No matter how hard he tried to fight it and change his destiny, he would always be the hero the world called for in times of crisis.

Outside of the ten Red Rangers, she was the only one who knew about their mission just as he was then, and still was now, the only one who knew about what had happened to her in Florida. Not even Jason, Trini or Aisha knew about the attack. She just didn't have it in her to tell them and had made Tommy promise that he'd never tell another living soul. He kept that promise.

When the Red Rangers returned from their trip to the Moon, Tommy tried to call her only to discover that the last number he had had for her had been disconnected and that there were no listings for Kimberly Hart anywhere in Florida or anywhere else in the United States for that matter. Her mom was in France and he didn't know where her dad was so, unable to contact her, he dove headfirst back into school and focused all his attention on his paleontology work to keep his mind off of her. It wasn't until he discovered the Dino Gems that she came back into his regular train of thought.

The idea of Jason back in red, Kim in yellow and himself in blue appealed to him greatly. It just seemed right. He didn't mind the fourth color if it meant fighting with them again and he was going to call them too except for one, or rather three, bumps in the road. On his first day at Reefside High School, Conner McKnight, Ethan James and Kira Ford were all given detention and he was put in charge of supervising it. Part of the reason for telling them he'd cancel detention early if they found anything prehistoric was so he could get home and call Jason and Kim who had just gotten back in touch with him a few weeks earlier through email.

Unfortunately, the three kids discovered the gems and had bonded to them before he could do anything, putting a damper on his plan to resurrect the old team. He had even had a plan in the event that he managed to get his hands on the black and white Dino Gems. The black was going to be reserved for Zack and the white for Adam but those plans never came to fruition either because, while he would have loved to have Zack and Adam back, it wouldn't have felt right without Jason and Kim there with them.

Looking out her window, Kim watched as they passed by the familiar streets of Angel Grove and eventually reached the deserted outskirts. They had been driving for awhile and, as soon as she saw the mountains, knew exactly where they were heading. But where Tommy had known at first look and been nervous, even a little afraid, she felt her heart skip a beat in excitement about the return home. Except home wasn't like how she remembered it.

She hadn't been there when the Command Center had been blown up, destroyed and replaced by the underground Power Chamber but even that was no more. Instead, a twenty-foot tall chain link fence with barbed wire on top was erected, to the naked eye appearing to be guarding nothing at all. There was a security kiosk in front with four armed guards but she couldn't understand for the life of her what they were trying to protect.

Resting her head against the back of her seat, she took a deep breath as the car pulled up to the security checkpoint. A few minutes and a few more deep breaths later and the car was on its' way again, driving towards nothing but open desert. Less than a minute after they had driven through the front gate the car came to a stop and she let out a gasp when the ground began to move beneath them.

"Calm down, Ms. Hart," one of the agents told her, recognizing her curiosity as to what was going on.

"We're just going for a little ride."

She could only nod her head as the vehicle began to move down on an elevator type mechanism, heading into the dark abyss awaiting them below the surface.

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_Same location_

_10:48 a.m._

Looking at the people around him, the friends he loved and appreciated more than anything else the world could offer him, Tommy couldn't help but smile at the sight. Not only did he have Adam, Aisha, Justin, Rocky and Trini back but he had his best friend in Jason at his side once more. The only ones that were missing, preventing the group from being complete again, were Zack, Tanya, Katherine, Billy and…Kim.

God, how much he was dreading yet equally looking forward to that meeting when, and if, she showed up and joined them. How had he not known that she was living in Reefside? He knew everything about everyone he had served with, even some of the ones he hadn't teamed with, yet he didn't know about the one who had been the most important to him along with Jason.

Reefside wasn't a huge town and, depending on how long Kim had lived there, it was unlikely that they could have gone long without running into each other eventually. Unless…unless she didn't want to be found by him. That thought scared him more than actually seeing her did. Being Jessica's legal guardian she had to have known that he was going to be her biology teacher for the fall semester. Maybe she really didn't want to see him again after what had happened in Florida.

In his heart of hearts, he hoped that that wasn't the case. Even if they weren't dating he still wanted to be a part of her life and wanted her to be a part of his just as much. The months they had spent with one another in Florida had brought them closer than they had been even when they had dated. They were adults with more complicated feelings and emotions and, even if she didn't see it, he knew that, at the very least, they made damn good friends.

Without the emotional attachment and responsibility of being a couple, Tommy had finally found it in him to treat her like a friend in the same way he treated all the other former Rangers. He didn't feel like he had to walk on egg shells around her, didn't feel like he had to put on the perfect face to make her happy anymore. They could laugh, joke and be playful even to the point of being flirtatious without crossing any lines but both of them could get serious and be supportive if the other needed it.

He would rather have her as a friend than nothing at all and that was the truth. He could only hope that this makeshift reunion of sorts, if she indeed came, would be the push they needed to rekindle their friendship because he really needed a good friend. Hayley was great and knew a lot about him but Tommy didn't feel comfortable sharing everything with her. Jason was great too but they were guys and guys, unless it was completely unavoidable, strayed as far away from emotional conversations as they could. The others were all good friends too, they just weren't close in the way that he had been with Jason and Kimberly.

It all came back to her. She was the glue that had held them all together and it wasn't until they had all gone their separate ways and spent years without seeing or talking to each other that he finally realized it. When Kim had left the team, they lost that emotion that she brought to the table. Katherine was more the voice of reason than an emotional fireball like Kim and, though they came and went, the team already had more than enough of those in Billy, Adam, Aisha and, eventually, Tanya. They needed the one who wore their emotions on their sleeve more than someone who thought before acting.

Or maybe they didn't need that and he was the only one who did. Tommy and Kim were both emotional people and, when she was around, he seemed to function exponentially better. Maybe it wasn't Kim but the loneliness he felt when she wasn't with him that had sent them all in such different directions.

With most of the group focused on Adam's turn to spin the Big Wheel, Tommy and Jason had done a little redecorating and furniture shifting to make some room for a place to exercise. Both of them having been dragged from work, slacks, a polo and dress shoes for Tommy and a paramedic's uniform for Jason weren't exactly the best workout clothes. They had both taken off their socks, shoes and shirts and were facing the wall with Tommy standing behind Jason as he led them in a kata.

It was a dated kata, over a decade old that they had created shortly after Jason had returned as the Gold Ranger but neither were surprised that they remembered it as if they had only made it the day before. Every punch, every block and every kick flowed in absolute perfection. Their light workout was interrupted a few minutes later when the door opened.

Everyone, including Rocky who was all but glued to the television screen, stopped what they were doing to greet the newcomer. They were all rather disappointed when the upper half of an agent none of them had seen leaned in, took a quick head count and then disappeared out of the room muttering the word "seven" to himself.

"Well that was anti-climatic," Tommy murmured to Jason who just shrugged his shoulders as they picked their kata back up.

"Hey, knock that stuff off and get over here!" Rocky yelled from the couch. "I want you guys to see me lose on purpose on national TV."

"Why are they seeing you lose on purpose?" Justin questioned with a grin. "Why aren't they seeing Adam win?"

"I like his style. I like it a lot," Aisha added with a smile of her own, giving Justin a high-five. "You're going to fit in perfectly with all of us old folks."

It had been said jokingly but Justin felt genuinely touched by Aisha's words and the nod Trini gave to second her statement. Having never met Trini or Aisha before, it felt good to know that he was already being accepted by the ones he hadn't known until less than an hour earlier.

Surreal would be a great word to describe the relationship between the group. They all came from different backgrounds and upbringings, different families and walks of life yet they all just fit together so well, even the ones who had never or barely just met each other. And they all knew that things would only get better with the addition of the rest of the group.

Though no one verbalized it, they were all pulling for Kimberly to make an appearance and join them. Tommy was the only one who had seen her in the past ten years and the prospect of seeing her again was exciting, especially for Trini, Aisha and Jason. Trini and Aisha because Kim had always been their closest girl friend and Jason because she was like a little sister to him.

Ever since the second grade when younger but equally annoying versions of Farkas Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovich had thrown sand in her face and Jason had come to her rescue, punching them both in the stomach and getting suspended in the process, they had been joined at the hip. Jason loved Kim like the sister he never had and it pained him that he hadn't seen her in so long. Unfortunately, like Tommy, he was hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

The best was that Kim would come back and things would immediately return to the way they had been before she had left. The worst was that didn't come back at all or that she did and it was tense and awkward between them. He was praying for the former.

Staying away from the television, Tommy and Jason were now facing each other and doing some sparring in the space that they had cleared. They could hear Rocky squealing like a little kid opening up a present on Christmas to find the gift they had wanted more than anything and took it as a sign that the show was getting close to its' end. The words of Bob Barker reminding America to get their pets spayed and neutered would be refreshing ones when they finally came.

Bouncing on his toes, licking his thumb like an old-school prize fighter, Jason threw a side kick right at Tommy's chest. He barely caught his foot in time to prevent the strike and, as Jason bounced up and down on one leg, Tommy used the added leverage to launch his friend into a back flip. When he landed, Tommy dropped down and swept Jason's legs out from under him, sticking his arm out to catch him so he didn't hit the hardwood floor.

"What are we doing, dancing?" Jason asked, pushing himself away and getting back into his fighting stance. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

"If you don't stop quoting movies from the 90's I'm going to hit you and you're not gonna like it," Tommy retorted, barely sidestepping an elbow that Jason had thrown at his head. "Oh, we're playing rough, huh? You shoulda said something earlier, sweetheart."

Laughing to himself, Jason brought up his arms to deflect the onslaught of quick punches Tommy was now throwing in his direction. With each strike he blocked, Jason found himself being backed closer and closer towards the wall behind him. The hard white plaster looked less than inviting so, when Tommy went for a roundhouse kick, he ducked it and got behind him, putting himself back on the offensive.

As Tommy turned around he was met with a snap kick that Jason had intentionally stopped mere inches before it had connected with Tommy's neck. When they sparred they never did it at anything less than full strength but it was never with the intention to hurt the other person.

Circling each other, Jason was facing the door again with Tommy's back to it, looking at the wall behind Jason. Noticing the way Jason's knees were bent, Tommy was ninety-nine percent sure he knew what was coming next. They had done this too many times for him not to know. Then again, there was always the slight chance that Jason came with something new and surprised him but that was pretty unlikely.

Tommy anticipated the tornado kick but his timing in avoiding it was less than perfect. He ducked underneath it just as Jason's leg came sweeping over his head, the back of his calf grazing over the top of Tommy's hair that was quickly losing its' stylish form the more and more he sweated.

"I think you're losing a step in your old age, bro," Jason joked, both of them silently agreeing that they had had enough sparring for the time being.

The pair faced each other, both with their closed right fist meeting their open left palm as they bowed at one another in a sign of respect. As Tommy and Jason moved to shake hands, Rocky started yelling at the television set again except this time it was louder. In fact, it was so loud that Tommy didn't hear the door open behind him.

Unfortunately for Tommy, Jason was staring right at the door when it opened and the look on his face told him everything he needed to know about who was there. He didn't bother to turn around and instead kept his eyes on Jason hoping that he'd say something, anything to keep him from turning around. When he didn't say anything, Tommy found himself inhaling and exhaling deeply as if he was preparing himself for his final walk down the green mile.

"It's her, isn't it?" he asked in a whisper. With sympathy in his eyes, Jason managed to nod his head as Tommy turned around to face his biggest fear. When he saw who was standing there, he turned back to look at Jason with a newfound fire almost burning in his eyes. At that moment, it probably wouldn't have surprised either one of them if his eyes started flashing green again. "You're a sick bastard, you know that?"

"Sorry, bro," Jason muttered, smiling as he patted Tommy on the shoulder. "I couldn't resist it."

"Whatever."

Rolling his eyes, Tommy turned away and moved to greet the newest addition to their ever growing group. With a bright smile, he offered his hand to Zack Taylor and shook it with the same half-hug he had given Justin before offering a sweaty embrace to Tanya Sloan. She giggled when he tried to hug her and pushed him back, running around the room as he tried to catch up to her.

After chasing her around for a few minutes he eventually caught her and threw his arms around her making sure to rub his wet chest against her while she squealed and giggled, trying to break free from his sweaty grip. He let go a few seconds later and, as everyone came to greet Zack and Tanya, he could have sworn that he heard a noise coming from outside the room but the circle that the group had formed around them prevented him from leaving to investigate what he was pretty sure was someone muttering something.

Trying to shake the thoughts off and out of his mind, Tommy and the now group of nine made their way back to the couches and chairs to wait for whoever else was coming.

If he had only known how right his suspicions had really been he probably would have already been on his way out of the room. Resting her forehead against the outer wall next to the door, the petite, five foot two inch frame of Kimberly Hart was trying to come up with her plan of attack before going inside. She couldn't go in there, seeing a group of her oldest friends for the first time in a decade, unprepared.

There were so many things that they didn't know about her. Well, things everyone except Tommy didn't know about. From outside she could hear them laughing and joking like the old days. She wanted to be a part of it so bad but it was her fear of how they would treat her after so many years apart that was preventing her from just barging in there to greet them.

She should have known that things would not be different, that they'd welcome her back with open arms just like they had done with everyone else so far. They were all picking up right where they had left off so why would she be any different? She wanted to believe that but seeing them again, seeing Tommy again after so long was a scary thought to have to process and deal with.

Looking to her right, the door leading out of the foyer she was standing in suddenly looked rather inviting. Maybe she could run and make a break for it. It wouldn't be the first time she had run away from her problems in fear; breaking up with Tommy in the letter, not telling him the truth before he left for the Moon, those were just a few examples of Kim running away instead of facing her problems head on.

But, like before, she had a choice and an opportunity to make things right between them. Where she had failed in the past she wasn't going to repeat her old mistakes. She couldn't walk away again, especially not now with the chance to reestablish so many friendships being placed right in front of her. It was do or die for he, now or never.

Taking a very deep and elongated breath, she pulled on the windbreaker that was tied around her waist to cover the scars on her arms that only Tommy had seen. Nodding her head in some sort of silent confirmation to herself, she reached out and grabbed the exterior handle on the door tightly, pulling it open as nine heads turned around from their spots on the couches in unison to look at her.

_10:59:57...10:59:58...10:59:59..._

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_Ok, I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I'm a little bit disappointed with the response to the last chapter. I went from 20 reviews on the first one to ten on the second. Writing an almost 10,000 word chapter like this one is a very time consuming process and I don't like to take breaks so often times I find myself coming home from work or school and staying up extremely late to bust a chapter out in just one sitting. I don't mind doing it because I enjoy writing and seeing your reactions to my work but it almost feels like I'm wasting my time if no one cares enough to review it. If you love it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me. Just let me know what you're thinking so I can at least try and make it better if you think it sucks. There's no point in writing if people don't care, you know? I pride myself on the quickness of my updates but it's very hard to be enthusiastic about writing if no one cares enough to tell me what they think of the story I'm devoting so much time to. I don't want to sound like I'm whining cus that's not my intention, I just want to know how you all feel about it, that's all. I think most writers would find it pretty disheartening to go from 20 reviews to ten and the thing is, I believe this has the potential to be one of my best stories yet cus I've got a ton of ideas already written out and even more running through my head. Anyways, I'm done rambling. Hopefully you guys liked it and, hopefully, I'll be talking to you again soon._

_WK_


	4. 11:00 am

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Events occur in real time._

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_Angel Grove, CA, outskirts_

_11:00 a.m._

The moment she walked into the room, Kimberly's eyes made a mental checklist of the nine former Rangers seated at the other end of the room. There was Justin and Tanya, who she had only met once during the Murianthis incident, Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Zack, Trini, Jason and Tommy. She froze on the spot as soon as their eyes met.

Every emotion she had tried to suppress came rushing back at her the moment she saw him. The last time they had seen each other in Florida he still had his ponytail and earrings, which had long since been replaced by a much shorter cut that was struggling to stay up after his workout and a soul patch that she instantly found herself being drawn to. Silently, she envisioned how it would feel tickling against her chin as her lips met Tommy's.

But as quickly as she had come into the room she was gone, flinging the door back open and taking off in a sprint to wherever her legs deemed to be her final destination. She didn't care where she was going just as long as she was as far away from them as possible. The silent pep talk she had given herself a few minutes earlier hadn't been enough to prepare her for seeing them again.

Looking around at each other, they all found themselves at a loss for words. The smiles that had littered their faces at seeing her again just moments earlier had been replaced by frowns and expressions of confusion, none more so than Tommy, who looked like he had just watched his dog get struck by a car.

"What was that about?" Justin asked, finally breaking the silence.

He barely knew Kimberly and didn't understand the emotional battles she was, more often that not, waging within herself. She was a tough cookie but seeing her old friends was like seeing Goldar or Rito again, except she never ran from Goldar and Rito.

"I don't know, man," Rocky answered with a concerned shoulder shrug. "Shouldn't one of us go after her, though? I mean, she's still our friend, right?"

Everyone but Jason turned to look at Tommy as if he was some wise sage with all the answers that they needed. Jason, on the other hand, could already sense the inner conflict his best friend was experiencing. He knew Tommy well enough to know he was somewhere in between going after her and breaking down right there in front of them. With a comforting hand, Jason laid it on Tommy's shoulder and gave him the best smile he could muster.

"Did you see the way she looked at you, man? She needs you, bro. That much is obvious," Jason muttered. "Give her a minute or two to calm down, go talk to her and bring her back."

Nodding his head, Tommy leaned back against the couch in an attempt to take Jason's advice. It was too bad that his words had fallen on practically deaf ears. Usually when Jason spoke, Tommy listened intently. He was one of the few people who could always grab his attention.

The truth of the matter was that they didn't know anything about her anymore and he knew just about everything. None of them knew what she had gone through in Florida and the fact that she had called to tell him instead of Aisha or Trini gave him a sense of personal responsibility to go after her. No sooner had his head resigned against the back of the couch then he was pushing himself onto his feet.

Without looking back, he ran out of the room to chase her down. Rolling his eyes, Jason suppressed a chuckle at Tommy's reaction. Tommy had always been the one who could get to her and, as much as he wanted to go after her himself, he knew his friend would bring her back just fine.

"So much for waiting a few minutes, huh?" Adam asked with his trademark squinty-eyed smile. How he was still single with a heart melting smile like that was unbelievable.

"If anyone can get to her, it's Tommy," Trini spoke up, exchanging knowing looks with Jason and Zack, the ones who knew Kimberly best. "He's always had a way with her."

Laughing, albeit lightly, the others nodded their heads in agreement with Trini. Still, they'd be lying if they didn't admit that they were all feeling nervous about Kimberly's sudden appearance and even more sudden disappearance.

Every person in the room loved Kimberly as they loved each other. Time and distance apart would never, and could never, stand in the way of that. All twelve of them were forever bonded by their service to the world as Zordon's Power Rangers, a connection they shared that didn't just grow wings and fly away when they retired.

Their tenure in spandex was just a small blip on the Ranger timeline, but they had been the originals; the ones who set the standards for what being a Ranger and, in Jason and Tommy's case, leaders, would come to be defined as later on. It didn't matter if it was someone asking TJ Johnson from the Space Rangers, Eric Myers from Time Force, Tori Hanson from Ninja Storm or Xander Bly of Mystic Force. They could all, without hesitation, identify Zordon's Rangers both by name and color. It was not only a sign of the respect they had for their predecessors but a testament to the impact and influence that the original teams had really had on them.

Newer mentors like Sensei Watanabe had gone as far as to model uniforms after the old Rangers. One look at his son Cam Watanabe's Green Samurai Ranger uniform with its' gold chest shield could tell you it was directly modeled after Tommy's Green Ranger suit. Even Zord's like Eric's Quantasaurus Rex drew inspiration from Jason's Tyrannosaurus Zord and Tommy's Dragonzord.

In short, their impact on not only the Ranger world but the world in general hadn't stopped with their retirement. Instead, it had continued long after their days in spandex had gone by. And that? Well, that was why they were all sitting in the holding room together awaiting further instructions.

The underground government organization that had gathered them all together could have easily gone to Operation Overdrive, Time Force or SPD for help. Instead, they were asking a group of powerless ex-Rangers to save the world one more time simply because they had been the first and the best of them all.

If they were honest with themselves they knew they were the best. Walking away from their respective teams had been the hardest thing any of them had ever had to do. Even the ones like Jason, Trini, Zack and Kim who had left on their own terms eventually came to regret walking away and, while they all would admit to dreaming about another chance to fight, only four of Zordon's Rangers had been given the opportunity to return after departing: Jason, Tommy, Adam and Justin.

Twiddling his thumbs anxiously, Jason found himself wondering if Tommy had managed to track down Kim and, if he had, what their conversation was entailing. Outside in the hallway Tommy had come to a literal crossroads in his attempt to find Kim. From where he was standing, he could either go to his left, his right, or stay heading straight.

Making a gut decision, he turned to the right and, after a little more than fifty feet of walking, he came to another intersection in the hallway. Thankfully, he didn't have to make another judgment call because, looking to his left, he found Kimberly sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and her face buried in her hands. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention and, when she didn't look up, he decided to sit next to her.

Almost as soon as he had sat down she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and sobbing against his naked chest. He was a little taken aback but managed to get an arm around her to awkwardly pat her on the back.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered against his chest. "I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have come here. I don't belong here with you guys."

He had seen this self-depreciation coming a mile away. Any time either of them did something they even remotely thought the others wouldn't like they immediately chose to beat themselves up over it. The Oliver-Hart guilt complex had returned in full form.

"Why don't you belong here, Kim?" he asked, locking his eyes onto hers with dead seriousness in them.

"You guys are all so happy in there without me and I haven't seen or talked to any of them except you in ages," Kim answered through sniffles. "I'm not doing anyone any favors by being here."

"You make it sound like we hang out all the time," he chuckled. "Today is the first time most of us have seen each other in years. Adam, Aisha and Rocky have their own little clique and I do my best to stay in contact with everyone but we're not best friends like we used to be in high school, Kim. We've all grown up and grown apart. We're just trying to pick up where we left off, doing whatever comes naturally. You're as much a part of that as any of us are."

Tommy had always had a way of saying the right thing at the right time to calm her down and lower her defensive walls. She wanted to melt in his arms right there, break down and confess everything about his time in Florida. Being next to him like that, his soothing voice trying to calm her emotions and offer some reassurance to her had forever had that effect on her.

Before she knew it his arm had gone around her shoulder and her head was resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder. _Just like old times_ she silently mused to herself. Their eyes met and, just for a brief moment, Tommy thought about trying to kiss her. She probably would have let him too if not for the four agents who came barreling around the corner interrupting them.

"You two!" one of them yelled without stopping. "Let's go!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Tommy pushed himself onto his feet and offered Kim a hand to help her up off the floor. Hesitantly, she allowed her small hand to be enveloped by his larger one. As soon as their hands met she was taken back. He had always had the most perfect hands for holding, soft but still retaining some semblance of rugged manliness.

Once she was on her feet, Tommy had no reason to hold her hand anymore. He tried to let go but she kept a tight grip on it. Looking up at him, her eyes said everything her mouth couldn't. She was nervous, scared about what was going to happen and needed the comfort of holding the hand of her first and only real love. Their fingers interlocked and they quietly made their way in the same direction the agents had gone.

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_Assistant Director Cranston's office_

_11:16 a.m._

From his desk with his eyes trained on the flat screen computer monitor on his right, NBMAA Assistant Director William Cranston could see and hear everything that was happening in the room housing his friends. Before they had arrived he had installed half a dozen pinhole cameras throughout the room to monitor the group. He had seen them greeting each other, seen Kim enter and flee in less than a minute and had surprisingly found himself rather amused at the shenanigans between Adam, Rocky, Jason and Tommy.

Knowing that most of them hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years, he installed the cameras so he could see how they interacted with each other. He was the eternal optimist and was hoping that this meeting would be a push in the right direction towards reconciling their friendships. So far the group was getting along famously and there was nothing to worry about.

His job with the NBMAA was partially to blame for the lack of communication with them on his part. He worked long hours, often as many as ten to twelve a day, six days a week. Former Power Ranger or not, consistent sixty-four to seventy-two hour work weeks do take their toll on you.

Just a few minutes earlier he had been watching them when the monitor started to flicker and decided it wanted to go black momentarily. When the picture returned the Rangers were in the same place he had left them but the actions of his screen still concerned him. The base built under the Command Center, in the remains of the old Power Chamber, operated under the best and most expensive technology the country had to offer. Power surges and blackouts, even quick ones, just didn't happen. They couldn't afford for them to which is why they had paid such a pretty penny to ensure that they didn't.

One momentary lapse of lost visuals in the field could prove disastrous for the agents who put their lives on the line every time they went out there. The second his monitor went off his instincts kicked in to overdrive and as soon as it came back up his fingers were flying across the keyboard.

The access to state-of-the-art technology the NBMAA had was astonishing. In just a few seconds of typing he had managed to hack into a global database of computer networks and discovered the source of the brief power outage. What he found was scary.

Someone in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany had managed to backdoor the agency's main firewall and hacked into their computer mainframe. Luckily, their computer systems were more than protected and the backup firewall had kicked in almost instantly preventing any information from being stolen. It could have been a lot worse though.

If someone was to get a hold of the top secret information they had stored in their computer system it could fetch quite a bit on the black market. Falling into the wrong hands, it would destroy everything they had done and the identities of twelve Power Rangers had the potential to be revealed on a global stage. Immediately, Billy went to work on establishing further protections to their server.

With the use of the alien technology Billy had been privy to on Aquitar, his expertise and skill was in high demand throughout the nation and even internationally as well, but he didn't like the idea of having to work under someone. He was far too intelligent to not be his own boss. It was only when the NBMAA came to him with evidence of his past as a Ranger that he gave in and decided to help.

The National Bureau for the Monitoring of Alien Activity had been watching the Rangers since the first time they had physically gone to another planet. Only monitoring things leaving Earth and arriving from space or other planets, the bureau hadn't initially picked up on their teleportation energy until it actually left the Earth. From that moment on they had been tracking the Rangers, monitoring every thing they did and building huge databases about each of them.

Some, like Tommy, Adam and Kim who had been around awhile were quite in depth while others like Zack, Justin and Tanya were lacking in comparison to their comrades. Either way, the NBMAA had enough information on the Rangers to really go after them and cause a lot of problems if they wanted too.

Billy hadn't even believed it the first time they showed him his extensive file lasting from the day they had been discovered until the day he had returned from Aquitar. The bureau had used their information as leverage against him to get him to work for them. Obviously, he took the position but it was only under the pretense that he be given a high-ranking position in the organization. Assistant Director was as high as he could get without actually overseeing the whole operation and, at a potentially extra ten or more hours a week, he didn't want the position that bad, anyway.

Having just finished the fourth or fifth round, he had lost count, of firewalls, he turned in his chair and noticed four agents running past his window followed a few seconds later by…he had to do a double take. Taking off the stylish eyeglasses that had replaced his contacts a few years back, he rubbed his eyes and looked again just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. As real as the day is long, Kimberly and Tommy came walking by his window hand-in-hand.

Ever the neat freak, he laughed quietly at what he had just seen and began to reorganize his desk. He did it at least once a week, sometimes more. Shuffling the cup that held his plethora of pens, it had never been in the same place for more than seven days, he took the manila envelopes containing the only hard copies of the files on his friends and locked them away in his safe. Once he was sure Tommy and Kimberly were well passed his office, he got up from his seat and quietly made his way into the hallway.

Seeing them like that must have done something to his memory. He never forgot to lock his office door but there's a first time for anything. If only he knew how big of a mistake not locking the door had been…

As Billy headed in the direction Tommy and Kimberly had gone in a man's head poked itself around the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. Not seeing anyone in the hall, he crept along the wall to Billy's office making sure to stay in the shadows and then slipped in through the unlocked door.

"I'm in," he whispered to no one in particular. At least no one that was visible. "Now where does he keep those files?"

After a few minutes of searching, he found the safe. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small magnetic device and stuck it against the safe door. After pushing a few numbers on the device's panel he stepped back and watched for a few seconds until the small EMP beeped and the safe popped open.

The pocketsize electromagnetic pulse bomb had just enough power to disable the electric frequencies on whatever it was attached to. When it went off, it disabled the electronic lock on the safe with ease leaving the door wide open. Fortunately, Billy had taken precautionary steps in case something like this happened.

When the door had opened without the proper code a silent alarm was triggered throughout the entire building. In less than three minutes, five agents came bursting through the door with their guns fixed on the perpetrator. Agent Adamson was the first one in and he froze when he saw who was there.

"Pierce? What the hell are you doing?" he asked in shock and surprise.

Randy Adamson and Tim Pierce had been partners since being recruited out of the U.S. Marine Corps by the NBMAA after Operation Desert Storm in the early 90's. They had gone through boot camp together and fought alongside one another in the Gulf War. Hell, their wives were even in the same book club and their kids went to the same school.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, Randy," Pierce muttered, inching his hand towards the holster inside his jacket. "You knew this day would come. The Resistance is strong. I'm simply staying one step ahead of the game."

With that, Pierce reached for his gun and withdrew it, bringing it around to point at Adamson but before he could get a shot off, a pink burst of energy came from Adamson's gun and connected with the head of his partner and best friend. The shot had left only empty space where his head and neck had once met.

"I'm sorry, Tim," Agent Adamson mourned quietly before turning to the other agents. "Make sure nothing is missing and get this cleaned up. When you're done, let me know. I'll take care of the body."

The other agents could only nod their heads in agreement as Agent Adamson turned on his heels and exited Billy's office alone. As soon as he was away from the other agents the realization of what he had just done began to don on him. He started to feel nauseous and took off in a dead sprint towards the nearest men's room.

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_Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany _

_Marienplatz U-Bahn Station_

_11:29 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, 8:29 p.m. Central European Time_

The underground station for Stuttgart's public transportation system looked just like New York City's subway system or the Bay Area's BART terminals. There was one set of railways for the trains running in each direction with a cement waiting area on each side a little over two hundred yards long. Inside the tunnels, to the right and left, were storage and maintenance rooms, most of which were no longer being used.

Inside one of the rooms, a group of men and one woman were sitting around a card table smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and playing Skat, a card game comparable to the more American version of "Bullshit." Something had gone wrong in the game for a pencil thin brunette woman in glasses had just laid down a card and found herself in the clutches of her much larger opponent who had grabbed her by the shirt collar.

"_Nicht! Nicht!_"he snarled. "_Du hast kein König! Du bist Überbrücker!_"

She simply laughed at the statement, using one hand to forcefully grab both of his.

"_Mein Freund_, I assure you I am no cheater. I had a king in my hand and I played it fair and square," she replied with a smile in a heavy British accent. "Now, unless you want trouble I suggest you take your hands off of me. _Dein Kopf würde auf meiner Wand sehr, sehr wunderbar schauen._"

As the much smaller woman reached into the inner lining on her leather jacket with her free hand and extracted a rather large knife, the bigger man immediately let go of his grip. The size of the knife and the thought of his head hanging from the woman's wall were enough to scare him into releasing her. Laughing, the British woman got up from her seat and stuck her hand out.

"_Mein Geld, bitte,_" she requested. The large man rolled his eyes and dug into his pants pocket, pulling out a wad of bills. He counted out a thousand Euros and, begrudgingly, handed them off to the woman. "_Danke schön._"

She thanked the German man, patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk away. Halfway towards the door she heard a gun cock and froze. Though the men behind her could only see her back, she was wearing a confident, almost cocky, smile.

"You go nowhere, whore," the German man commanded. "I want my money."

Slowly, the Englishwoman dipped her hand into her pocket. Once she had her hand on what she was reaching for she moved so fast the poor German didn't stand a chance. In one fluent motion she spun around and flicked her wrist, effortlessly placing one shuriken right between the German's eyes and two in his forehead. He leaned back in his chair, snapping it in a half dozen places as he collapsed to the floor.

"Bullseye! Any of you other wankers wanna have a go at it?" the woman asked, laughing when they all shook their heads. "That's what I thought. Cheers, mates."

Still laughing, she tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, shaking her head as she exited the room. She had to wait for the train to pass through the tunnel and, once it had gone by, she made her way back up to the boarding area a thousand Euros richer. At the top of the escalator, her phone rang and she pressed the button on her earpiece to answer the call.

"Go," she said simply.

"Pierce is dead," was the reply.

"Good. And the files?" she asked.

"We will have them soon."

"Make sure you get those files. I don't care if you have to kill every last agent in the building, just get them. Failure is not an option. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. Understood."

"Good. Call me when you have them," she said as she ended the call and flagged town a taxi, climbing into the backseat with a wicked grin on her face. "_Flughafen Stuttgart, bitte_."

The driver nodded his head, pulling back into traffic and heading for the Stuttgart Airport. There was a private plane waiting at the airport to take her to Los Angeles. With the time difference, she'd be in California by no later than ten p.m.

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_Briefing Room, NBMAA Headquarters_

_11: 42 a.m._

Kimberly had barely been given time to greet the others before two agents had come to take them from the holding room to the briefing room. The briefing room looked like something out of _24_, enclosed in glass with a large rectangular table in the center, expensive black leather office chairs around it and a plethora of monitors mounted on one of the walls.

The re-acquaintance had started off awkward just like she had thought it would. They all just looked at her like they didn't know what to say. If it hadn't been for Tommy who managed to break the ice, she probably would have tried to run away again.

The way he held her hand, gently rubbing the top of it with his thumb had greatly helped in calming her nerves. Jason and Trini had both given him halfcocked eyebrow raises at him holding Kim's hand and he had returned their looks with an innocent shoulder shrug in reply. If Kim needed that comfort of holding his hand, he was more than happy to oblige.

It wasn't like they were standing there making out. Him holding Kim's hand was no different than if Jason did it to Trini or Rocky with Aisha. Except neither of them had the extensive history that Tommy had with Kimberly.

Once Tommy had gotten them all talking, everything fell into place. Everyone got hugs from Kim, the awkwardness disappearing the moment her arms had wrapped around Jason's waist and he kissed the top of her head. She knew she had a lot to explain and was finally prepared to do it until the agents had barged into the room to retrieve them.

Ten former Rangers were seated at the table with Kimberly sitting in the middle wedged between Jason and Tommy, her hand resting on Tommy's knee with his hand on top of hers. Trini was to Jason's left followed by Zack and then Tanya. Adam was on Tommy's right with Aisha in between himself and Rocky, Justin seated next to Rocky.

Standing up in front of the monitor filled wall, Billy was holding what appeared to be a normal television remote control. He pushed a few buttons and the screens came to life, each occupied by a different image or set of images. Using the laser pointer in his other hand, he trained it on the face of a brunette woman wearing glasses.

"This is Jane Ackman also known as Janice Ackerman. She's a former MI-6 agent from the United Kingdom gone rogue. We have reason to believe that she's working with these guys," Billy explained, moving the red light across the screens to focus on a group of men. Tommy immediately recognized two of them from the freeway incident. "I believe Tommy already had a run in with two of our _friends_. They are rogue aliens from the planet Infernius, better known to us at the bureau as the Fire Planet. They are fluent in almost every form of martial arts and are trained in sword and firearm use. Without a doubt, Infernians are the most dangerous and lethal beings to ever step foot on Earth."

Kim's hand flipped over on Tommy's knee, grasping his hand and squeezing it tightly now. Trini's arm had interlocked with Jason's and Tanya had done the same thing to Zack. In between Adam and Rocky, Aisha had a firm grip on Adam's left, and Rocky's right, hand. Clearing his throat, Tommy raised his eyes to look at Billy.

"What do they want?" he asked in his best leader voice. "And what are we supposed to do? We can't exactly morph anymore, man."

"They want what they all want, Tommy. Earth," Billy answered with a serious expression. "But the Infernians won't make the same mistakes that Zedd, Rita, Mondo and Divatox made. They have connections on Earth, mostly bounty hunters and assassins, that will do anything if the price is right." Rocky had to fight the urge to laugh when Billy said that. He stifled a chuckle and got an odd look from their scientist friend. "All it takes is a few bucks and the promise of a safe place to live once they have Earth to convince them to work for them."

"Okay, but what are _we_," Rocky began, pointing to the people seated around the table "supposed to do about that? Like Tommy said, we can't morph anymore. How do you expect us to stop them?"

It was the Million Dollar Question. As Rangers, they all knew that there could potentially come a time when they were needed again, but every time one of them came back it was with powers, either new or old: Jason as the Gold Ranger and on the Red Ranger mission, Adam returning to help Carlos the Black Space Ranger and the Overdrive team, Justin aiding the Space Rangers with his Turbo power and Tommy with the Red Ranger mission and as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger.

If what Billy was telling them proved to be true, they didn't see a way they could even attempt to fight back without some source of power, but Billy was prepared for this. Using the remote control again, he entered a code and stepped back from the wall. They watched in surprise as the wall containing the monitors began to turn to the side leaving a seven-foot-wide opening into darkness.

"Follow me, guys," Billy said, turning to head into the tunnel.

But, as the others got up to follow him, Jason had other things on his mind. He stayed planted in his seat, getting odd looks from the other former Rangers.

"No. I'm not going," he said sternly. Billy spun around and stared at him in surprise. They all stared at him in surprise for Jason rarely questioned the judgment of his friends. "Listen, Billy, I got in a fight with two of your 'agents,' had my partner thrown against an ambulance, spent an hour listening to Rocky watch _The Price Is Freaking Right_ and I still haven't been given answers. I want to know where we are, what this place is and how these people know about _us._ Sorry man but I'm not going anywhere until you answer my questions."

Behind his glasses, Billy kept his eyes firmly trained on Jason, almost like he was mad at the one time leader of the power team. When Jason still didn't budge the rest of the team seemed to come to an agreement with him and returned to their seats. Recognizing that he was outnumbered, Billy closed his eyes and took a deep breath before setting the remote control back on the table.

"In July of 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field issued a press release saying they had recovered a flying disc that had crash landed on a ranch outside of Roswell, New Mexico. Most people didn't believe it at the time but it indeed was an alien ship. With the technology and information we have now we believe it came from Neptune, maybe Uranus," Billy explained. He was trying to remain calm and composed when, in reality, he was angry about having to answer the questions. He had expected them to follow without hesitation and they would have if not for Jason. "Three years later a group of MIT graduates created the National Bureau for the Monitoring of Alien Activity, basing it in an underground bunker somewhere between Texas and New Mexico. Since that day in 1947, hundreds of alien space crafts have landed on Earth but, because of our atmospheric makeup, most can't survive. The aliens we encountered as Rangers, Zedd and Rita and Divatox, were the first that could come to Earth without instantly dying. Does that answer your questions, Jason?"

"Nope," he replied, feeling his blood boil when Billy rolled his eyes. "I asked where we are, what this place is, and how these people know about us. All you did was give me the history of an organization I didn't even know existed until a few hours ago."

"Well, where we are and what this place is, is simple. We're at NBMAA headquarters located in the remains of the Power Chamber," Billy answered, confirming Jason's and Justin's suspicions. Though Tommy and Kimberly, having seen the outside location, already knew where they were the others were terribly surprised at the information. "Like I said, the bureau has been monitoring alien activity on Earth for over fifty years. They picked up our teleportation energy the first time we left the planet and from there began to monitor and develop detailed files on us. When I returned from Aquitar five years ago, the Infernians were already on their way here and the bureau had been in this location for close to four years. The bureau offered me the Assistant Director position because of my time away from Earth, and with the Infernians approaching, they thought I could use my relationship with you guys to get you to help."

Knowing that Billy was behind this didn't sit well with them at all, especially Jason, Tanya and Zack, who had resisted earlier and been attacked by the agents. Jason was out of his seat and had Billy by his shirt collar up against the wall in less than five seconds. He kept Billy pressed against the wall with his left forearm and clenched his right fist hanging by his side as if he was debating whether or not to hit him.

No one even tried to stop him either. They were just as mad as Jason was at what Billy had done. All it would have taken was a simple phone call and they would have come but instead, most of them had been interrupted at work or school.

"My partner could have been killed by those ass clowns out there," Jason growled, applying even more pressure to Billy's neck. "One phone call! All you had to do was pick up the goddamn phone and call me!"

"Jason, stop!" Trini yelled but he wasn't listening. He was only focused on what Billy's lackeys had done to him and Elizabeth.

"That's enough, Jase," Kimberly said coolly. She had gotten up from her seat and had her hand on Jason's arm in an attempt to calm him down but he wasn't letting up. "I said that's enough, Jason. Hurting him isn't going to make this better or easier on any of us, you know that."

"You're lucky Kim's here and you're my friend or you wouldn't be able to walk again," Jason muttered angrily, after nodding at her statement.

He gave one final push to Billy's neck and let go, staring down at him as he slumped to the floor and struggled to regain his breath. Tommy had turned to look at Kimberly when Jason had said that and saw the way she cringed at his threat of Billy not walking. The others had simply watched in a combination of shock at what Jason was doing and horror at what more he _could_ do to Billy. Jason was an expert fighter and, while Billy had had some martial arts training it was minimal at best. He had less of a chance against Jason than a snowball had to stay frozen in Hell if Jason decided that he wanted to hurt him.

Tommy was by her side in a flash, now staring angrily at Jason. He offered Billy his hand to help him up which he accepted graciously but, when Billy opened his mouth to speak, Tommy put up his other hand to silence him.

"Don't say anything. Jason shouldn't have done that but what you did was worse," Tommy said quietly so the others couldn't hear him. "One of the agents or, even worse, one of us could have been seriously hurt out there and Jason was right. All you needed to do was call. us"

Billy was on his feet now and looking more embarrassed than they had ever seen him. The expression Jason had on wasn't much better. For as bad as Billy felt about how he handled bringing his friends in, Jason felt just as bad for reacting in the way he had.

Years of martial arts training had taught him to remain calm and to exert the utmost of self-discipline when backed into a corner. He had thrown that all out the window in a single momentary lapse of judgment and, judging by the way the others were looking at him, was now paying the price for it. Still, he didn't feel like his actions were unjustified but riding that wave wasn't going to make things better.

For all his great qualities, Jason was often too proud to admit when he had made a mistake. To the benefit of the team, this wasn't one of those times. Swallowing his pride, he took a deep breath and offered his hand to Billy in apology.

"I'm sorry, bro. You're my friend and I had no right to come after you like that," he said softly. "I don't know what got into me. I just thought about Elizabeth getting tossed against that ambulance earlier and I snapped but that's no excuse for what I did."

Nodding his head, Billy took Jason's hand and shook it tightly. With a smile, he pulled the former Red Ranger into a quick hug.

"Apology accepted. But now it's my turn," Billy replied, moving his eyes from teammate to teammate. "With everyone so distant, I didn't think that you would come if I just called you. I made a snap decision and now I realize how wrong that decision was. None of you deserved to be treated like that. I should have known you all would come, so, to all of you, I'm truly sorry."

With one hand holding Tommy's, Kim reached out with her free hand and gently touched Billy on the elbow. She had a smile on her face that instantly made Billy feel forgiven.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say we love you, Billy. You made a mistake and I forgive you just like I forgive Jason for snapping like that," Kim began, shooting Jason a look that made him blush. "We're all friends here and sometimes friends fight or do stupid stuff. We all make mistakes and part of having close friends is forgiving them when they mess up."

Tommy could hear the underlying message Kim was conveying in her statement to Billy. Without actually saying it, she was trying to admit to her mistakes from the past. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know he was there and her eyes replied her thanks to him.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm over it," Rocky jumped in.

There was a silence following his interjection that lasted a few seconds before Adam shook his head and started laughing. Zack followed suit and soon they were all laughing together, even Jason and Billy. They had both apologized and that was all that needed to be said for the others to move on.

The look Trini was giving Jason told him that he'd probably catch hell for what he had done. If that was all he had to deal with though, he could stomach it. Trini was always the calmest of them, along with Adam, but when one of them did something like Jason did she was the first to call them on it. Kim couldn't help but laugh when she saw Trini giving the same look to Billy as well.

"Dude," Jason whispered to Billy "we're in deep shit. Trini's gonna ream us big time, Billy-man."

"Affirmative," Billy returned with a grin. "Wanna make a run for it?"

He tilted his head towards the opening behind the wall and Jason gave him a confirming nod. They were gone and down the hall before anyone could say a word to them. Rolling his eyes, Tommy turned his attention on the remaining members of the team.

"I guess we should follow them, huh?" he asked. Everyone at the table either physically said yes or nodded their heads in reply. "Let's go then."

Thankfully, the secret tunnel was exponentially easier to navigate in comparison to the multiple forks in the outer hallways. It was a straight shot that took them a little more than three minutes to complete. When they came to the end of the tunnel Billy and Jason were standing in front of a closed doorway with Billy's hand on a spherical piece of metal.

_Fingerprints confirmed for William Cranston_ the same voice in the black sedan confirmed. With a whooshing noise the pressure keeping the door closed released and it opened like an elevator. Billy stepped through first followed by Jason, Tommy and Kimberly together, Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Zack and Tanya together, Trini, and finally Justin.

Nothing could have prepared them for what was behind the door. The room itself was huge, at least three times as big as the Power Chamber, but it was the contents of the room that surprised them. Along the walls were a myriad of glass cases, each holding a mannequin wearing every uniform and helmet the eleven present Rangers had ever donned from the Morphin' team to Turbo. Even Tommy's Dino Thunder suit and the Ninjetti robes were present. The mannequins were even holding their weapons.

They all flocked to their old uniforms which were arranged by Ranger so, for the ones who had been around for power changes, their suits were together. For those like Adam and Zack, Rocky and Jason and Aisha and Trini who had shared the same power, there was a mannequin and weapon for each of them. Oddly enough Kim's mannequins were right next to Tommy's, the Pink Morphin' Ranger standing side-by-side with its' white counterpart. The Pink Ranger had her bow drawn and the White Ranger was holding Saba in a way that looked like it was parrying some sort of an attack.

For as nostalgic as it was to see their old uniforms, every one of them felt a twinge of sadness at the realization that they were nothing more than that. There was no power to give them life anymore, there would be no rush of energy is they put them on and their weapons would just be regular weapons. Tommy couldn't talk with Saba or use the Dragon Dagger to call for the Dragonzord and Jason couldn't take the Gold Ranger staff to summon Pyramidas. They were there only to serve as a reminder of their past.

"We did a lot of great stuff in those uniforms, guys," Jason commented. "I know I'm proud to have done it and I'm just as proud to have done it with all of you."

"Are you trying to save yourself?" Trini, who was standing next to him, asked in a low whisper.

"Is it working?" he asked in reply.

"Not really," she answered. "Well, maybe a little."

Jason laughed and put his arm around Trini's shoulder, pulling her tightly against him.

"Jason's right, you guys," Tommy added, approaching the side of his best friend with a smile. "We were the first. We were Zordon's Rangers. No one else can say that. You all should be proud of the things we did as Rangers."

As they all nodded in agreement Justin turned his head to the side a little, his mouth falling open in surprise. In their rush to take a trip down memory lane, no one had noticed the twelve vehicles pointed towards what looked like a garage door.

"Guys," Justin started, pointing towards the automobiles "check those out."

They all turned in unison and looked, eyes widening and mouths opening just like Justin's had done. Chuckling, Billy took a few steps back so he could look at everyone at the same time.

"I thought you might like those," he said with a laugh. "Each car is specifically designed with you in mind. For example the pink Corvette, topping out at over two-hundred miles per hour is for Kimberly who always knew how to fly." He shot her a wink and tossed her a set of keys. She smiled back at him as he moved to the red Dodge Ram with blue stripes and a seven inch lift. "Rocky, being overly loud and eating as much gas as you eat food, this one is for you."

Rocky caught his set of keys with a grin as everyone laughed at Billy's explanation for it. Billy continued to move down the line, explaining each car to them and dishing out keys after each explanation.

When it was all said and done Jason had a red Durango with flecks of gold paint, Tommy a white 1967 Camaro with red, green and black racing stripes, Aisha a yellow Mustang and Justin with a blue Chevy S-10. Adam had been given a black Chevy Avalanche with green stripes along the sides, Trini caught a key belonging to a yellow BMW X5, Zack was now the owner of a black Escalade with twenty-two inch rims and Tanya had a yellow Mercedes SLK350 Roadster. The blue GMC Denali was Billy's and the pink Jeep Grand Cherokee was for Katherine who, as Billy explained, had been on a flight to California from New York since eight a.m. her time.

Once the excitement had died down and everyone had been given their car keys, Billy help up his own set, returning his focus to the whole group.

"Each key ring has three keys that go to three different things. Obviously, the one with a logo that corresponds to your car maker goes to your individual cars," he explained, turning the keys in his hand so he was showing them a smaller gold one. "This key goes to your lockers. Back there next to that wall is a male locker room and a female locker room. Your lockers are marked with your names and inside are a set of casual clothes and tennis shoes along with something a little dressier. I doubt you'll have to use the formal wear but we don't leave anything to chance here at the bureau."

"That's only two," Aisha interrupted. "What about the last one?"

"That one? That one is special. In fact, it works in two ways," Billy answered with a sly grin. "In the trunk of each car or under the driver's seat in the trucks is a black box. The boxes have any weapons or supplies you'll need out there. Also, you all have a ten inch monitor and CD players with removable faceplates. Take off the faceplate, insert the key into it's' place, turn it to the right and you'll activate your vehicle's weapon systems. Your monitor will bring up a screen that lets you choose what weapon to use but I'm not going to explain all of them. I promise it'll be much more fun if you discover them on your own."

Everyone seemed genuinely excited about the new cars and all their features but Tommy, ever the leader, had his thoughts elsewhere. Billy still hadn't told them what they were supposed to be doing for the NBMAA.

"Billy, this is all well and good and the cars are awesome," Tommy began "but you still haven't told us what we're supposed to do to help."

Looking at his watch for a brief moment, Billy brought his attention back to them and nodded his head.

"Why don't you guys go change and meet me back in the briefing room in half an hour," Billy requested. "It will make more sense if I can show you and verbalize it as well. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yeah, I'm good with that," Adam answered.

"Me too," Rocky added.

The rest of them all agreed and Billy thanked them for their patience before turning and heading back towards the tunnel that they had come through. Once he was gone, the remaining Rangers stood around for a few minutes discussing what had just transpired and what they thought was going to be coming next. When everyone had said their peace they eventually split by gender and made their way towards the locker rooms Billy had pointed out to them.

All the guys and girls had gone in to their respective locker rooms except for Tommy. Kimberly was halfway through the door to the female room when he called out for her to stop. Slowly, she came to a stop and put on her best smile before turning around to face them.

"What's up, Tommy?" she asked, caking on the enthusiasm that Tommy could see right through. He reached out and took her hand giving her a knowing smile.

"When this is done I think we have a lot to talk about," he started. "I miss having you around, Kim. Your friendship means a lot to me and with Jessica in my biology class and you living in Reefside now, I'd like to work on getting that friendship back."

"Tommy, you never lost my friendship. Even when we broke up you still had it," she muttered, biting back the single tear welling up in each eye. "I was just nervous about the way we left things in Florida. I didn't know what you wanted and I definitely didn't know what I wanted. But what I know now is that friendship is the bare minimum I want to give to you."

"You mean…?" he started but she silenced him by placing a finger to his lips.

"We'll talk about what we both want when we've done our jobs here," she said softly. "Go get changed and meet me back here, okay? I wanna take a look inside that Camaro you got over there."

Tommy opened his mouth to reply but she stopped him again before he could get a word out. This time however, it wasn't with her finger. She stood on her tiptoes, planted a soft kiss on his lips and then ran into the women's locker room, leaving him standing there alone to contemplate the kiss.

"Yesssss!" he whispered happily, pumping his fist in excitement as he turned around and literally skipped into the locker room where the rest of the guys were already in the process of changing into the clothes provided for them.

_11:59:57...11:59:58...11:59:59..._


	5. 12:00 pm

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. Events occur in real time._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_-------------------------------------------

_Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA_

_12:00 p.m._

Skipping into the locker room, Tommy approached Jason with a wide grin, whistling show tunes and doing a little dance around his friend. Pulling the black tee shirt with its' thick, vertical, singular red stripe on each side over his head, Jason gave him a look like he had gone off the deep end. Shaking his head, he tucked the shirt into the matching wind pants as Tommy danced in a circle around him.

"Fine. I'll play," Jason muttered begrudgingly. "What's got you all worked up? You look like you just got kissed by Kimberly."

Oh, if he only knew how right he had been. As Tommy continued to dance in circles he added shadow boxing to his little jig, occasionally punching Jason in the arm. Two minutes of that was enough for Jason and anyone else, for that matter. When Tommy went to punch him again, he put up his hand and caught Tommy's fist in it.

"What…is…the…big…freaking…deal?" Jason asked in a slow drawl. Tommy continuing to beam like a child on his birthday.

"Kim kissed me," Tommy answered in a sing-song voice. "She kissed me right in front of the locker rooms, bro. Ahh, it was fantastic."

"Good," Jason answered nonchalantly, giving Tommy a pat on the shoulder like the one he had given Cole Evans before the Red Ranger mission. "Wanna mess with Rocky?"

"Sure," Tommy replied with a shoulder shrug. "What do you have in mind?"

Looking across the room, Jason and Tommy both turned to see Rocky heading towards the row of urinals on the other side of the room. With an arm around Tommy's shoulder, Jason quietly whispered his plan to him. When he had finished Tommy wore a grin nearly as big as the one he had walked in with after being kissed by Kimberly.

Just like that the subject of Kim kissing Tommy was dropped. No more needed to be said on the subject. And it wasn't that Jason was insensitive or didn't care, he fully understood what it meant to Tommy, but he also knew that if Tommy wanted to talk more about it, he'd say something to him.

Rocky was standing in front of one of the urinals, plastic separators on each side to divide the stalls, whistling to himself as Tommy and Jason each took a spot on either side of him. Tommy looked over at him and gave a half-nod which Rocky reciprocated, doing the same with Jason on his right.

As long as eyes stayed at eye level, a man giving another man a polite head nod in a public restroom is perfectly and totally acceptable. You're both there for the same reason, so immediately there's that common bond, same as if you acknowledged someone wearing the jersey of your favorite sports team or griping about their marriage. You've been there before so you know what he's going through. Give him a nod and let him know the rest of the guys in the world understand how he feels.

Jason had to turn his head to his right to hide the smile on his face when Tommy started humming a familiar tune. With one hand aiming his stream into the urinal, he started swaying back and forth, snapping his fingers to the beat.

"Go Green Ranger, go! Go White Ranger, go!" Tommy sang with a shit eating grin on his face. "White Ranger, tiger power. White Ranger, tiger power. White ranger, tiger power. White ranger, tiger power. Tiger power, now!"

Picking up where Tommy left off, Jason jumped in and started humming a melody of his own, bouncing to his left and right while snapping his fingers as well. Rocky just rolled his eyes in irritation at what he knew was going to be coming next.

"Quick as lighting, strong as steel. Watch out danger, he's for real," Jason sang, much to Rocky's annoyance and dismay. "You know when lightning strikes, it's Gold Ranger! Go-ooold Raaaaaanger. Go-ooold Ranger. Go, Gold Ranger!"

Somehow, Tommy and Jason managed to keep straight faces through the whole thing, acting as if they weren't intentionally trying to piss Rocky off. Shaking his head, Rocky finished up and flushed the toilet, turning to walk away in disgust. Spinning around, Tommy put his hand on Rocky's shoulder to stop him.

"Sorry dude. We didn't mean to make you mad," he muttered sarcastically. "You know how it is when you have your own theme song, bro."

"Dude," Jason interjected with an equally sarcastic smile, "no he doesn't."

"Oh, damn, that's right," Tommy replied, snapping his fingers. "Rocky never had a theme song. God, I don't know how I forgot that. Now I feel like a jerk."

"Screw you both," Rocky grumbled.

He pushed himself out of Tommy's grip and took off in a huff as the pair held onto each other to stay on their feet. Neither of them had laughed that hard in a long time. They succeeded in pissing off Rocky and got a good laugh out of it too. Two birds with one stone.

Laughing the whole way, they struggled to not fall down until they made it back to their lockers. Using the key Billy had given him, Tommy unlocked his locker and stared in disbelief at the clothes hanging inside of it. Solid black wind pants with a white tee shirt. No problem, right? Well, they're wouldn't have been if the white shirt didn't include two thick stripes, one red and one green, running diagonally across his chest and back.

"Oh shit," Adam, who was standing behind Tommy, pointed and laughed. "Tommy's gonna look like a Christmas candy cane on steroids."

"Shut up, Adam," Tommy growled, shooting daggers at him with his eyes. Turning back to look at the clothes, he caught Jason smiling at him out of the corner of his eye and gave him the same look he gave Adam. "Man, this is bull crap. I'm the leader, for crying out loud. I always got cool stuff. Why am I getting screwed over now?"

Oh, the things Adam wanted to say to him about getting screwed over. Tommy with his magical dagger/flute thingy and talking sword; the Tiger Zord and the Falcon Zord and the Red Battlezord, not to mention Red Lightning. Plus he always got the girl. And what did Adam have to show for it?

"You wanna talk about getting screwed, man?" Adam asked. "One word for you: frog. Oh, that's not enough? How about this one? Minivan. Justin was freaking twelve years old and got a cooler car than me and he didn't even have his freaking license! So shove it Mr. Winged Lord of the Skies. Jeez, even Dulcea kissed your ass. Someone call the wambulance for leader boy over here."

"Haha. Adam got a minivan and I got a monster truck," Justin interjected, out of sight from the other side of the lockers. "Man what an ego blow that must have been."

"_Guys, I'm the new Blue Ranger,_" Adam said mockingly, referring to the time they had found out that Justin was going to be Rocky's replacement. "_Is this cool or what? Look at me, I'm a twelve year old Power Ranger. I don't fit in my uniform 'cause I'm a midget but_ somehow_ I _magically _grow to six feet tall when I morph. _Yeah, right."

"Don't be jealous, Adam," Justin replied with a hearty laugh. "Besides at least you got a girl out of it. I mean, she's with Zack now and she wasn't exactly Katherine quality but still."

Adam turned beet red at that comment. After years of unsuccessfully trying to get Aisha to pay attention to him, she left for Africa. Then Tanya came along and they were instantly attracted to each other. Unfortunately, it barely got off the ground. Adam was still coming into his own at the time and had been pretty shy about his feelings for Tanya.

After high school, she moved to Los Angeles to work on her singing career and Adam stayed behind to do stunt work for a film company in Stone Canyon. It wasn't until three years later, when he got his first big break and moved to Hollywood, that they even spoke to each other again. By that time whatever spark there had been between them had long since died out. They were still friends though, just not as close as they had been in high school. Then again that was the story for most of them.

"Hey, I got a girl too," Jason said, jumping in to throw his two cents into the bucket. "And if I remember right, Emily was kinda hot."

"Dude, I hate to say it but Emily was a psychopath, bro. P-S-Y-C-H-O, psycho," Tommy replied. "She jacked your bike and took it across state without even telling you then she lost it to those big ass biker guys. And if _I_ remember right, me and you had to fight something like, five or six huge dudes in the bar just to get your bike back. Good riddance if you ask me."

"She was kind of a nut job," Rocky added. "Granted, she didn't send you a letter to the Youth Center or call you from London to break up with you, but a nut job no less."

"I did get kinda screwed over, huh?" Tommy asked jokingly as everyone nodded their heads. "Oh well. Live and learn, forgive and forget and all that other unimportant shit."

"You're a poet and you didn't even know it," Zack laughed, slapping him on the back. "Hey at least you actually got the girls. I spent years trying to get Angela to pay attention to me, remember? Even bought her those pearls. Man, those cost me every dime I had and I didn't even get any action."

"Rule number one, my friend: never pay to get laid," Tommy replied, looking at Rocky. "Rocky knows about that all too well, don't you pal?"

Rocky blushed a profuse shade of red as he, Tommy, and Adam recalled their infamous trip to the strip club after graduation. The trip where Rocky forked up over two hundred dollars for lap dances thinking he'd at least get something for his expense. Instead, he went home with nothing but empty pockets, a frown, and blue balls.

"Shut up, Tommy," he grumbled as Tommy and Adam started to laugh.

Rocky rolled his eyes but pretty soon they were all laughing about their misfortunes in the female department. None of them had had much luck outside of Justin, who had yet to be broken up with from a long distance like Tommy had with Kimberly and Katherine or encounter a "psychopathic nut job" as Tommy and Rocky had so endearingly referred to Emily.

Even Zack, who had the ego of a player with the moves to match, had spent nearly two years working on Tanya. She was finally starting to come around but it had been a slow process requiring a lot of patience; something Zack had never had a whole lot of. But when she finally did start to really notice him, it made it that much sweeter for him. Getting girls had never really been _hard_ for him but he had also never had a meaningful relationship, either.

Tanya was different than the other girls though. They shared so many similarities with their heritage, love for all different kinds of dance and music, not to mention their tours of duty as Rangers. She brought out a side of Zack that none of them had really seen before; a side where he put in the time and effort regardless of the result it got him just because it meant being around her. Whether he realized it or not, Zack was falling in love, and he liked it.

The way they interacted with each other hadn't been lost on Tommy either. He had seen the way Tanya held Zack's hand in the briefing room and how she had curled up next to him on the couch in the holding room. It was the same way he and Kim were back in high school; always close without being overly affectionate.

_Shit. Kim._ Tommy thought, remembering he had told her he'd meet her outside. Looking at his watch, he groaned when he noticed it had already been fifteen minutes. Hastily, he threw on the tee shirt, tucked it into the black pants, pulled on the white and black Nikes, grabbed his keys and wallet and took off without saying a word to any of them.

Looking around at each other, they all shook their heads and laughed, letting out a reply of "Kimberly" in unison with each other. Ducking his head into his locker, Jason looked to his right, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Rubbing the stubbles of hair on his cheeks, he found himself wondering where the time had gone to.

They weren't the same people they had been in high school. The dream of owning a dojo with Tommy was long gone and replaced by regular jobs. Adam wasn't crushing on Aisha or Tanya anymore, Kim's valley girl personality was completely gone, Zack wasn't after every girl alive any longer, and Justin had seriously grown up. Even the girls he once found attractive had changed.

No longer did he care about who had the biggest boobs or the best looking butt in a pair of tight jeans. His tastes had sophisticated greatly over the years and, for the first time in his life, he found himself being drawn to someone he never thought possible.

She was mysterious in ways most women their age weren't. Her clothes were classy and tasteful yet sexy in their own way. The smile on her face was always warm and inviting, even when she seemed to be mad about something. She had the demeanor of someone who could be so sweet at one moment, then look ready to snap your neck the next.

He couldn't be attracted to… No. He shook the thought from his head, or at least tried to. How could he look at her in _that_ way? They had known each other since kindergarten for goodness sake. They used to feed each other hot dogs made from Play-Doh and play house in her backyard. Even their first karate lesson had been with each other.

"No," Jason grumbled, his head still inside his locker. "I can't be… not her. She's like my sister, man. Not her. Not Trini."

Yanking his head out of the locker, his fist connected with the metal storage unit, leaving a rather large indentation where his fist hit. Those on his side of the room, Rocky and Adam, stared up at him in surprise at his actions. They didn't know what was going on but they did know that Jason had apparently developed a temper; a temper they didn't want to mess with.

"Everything okay?" a voice asked. Jason, Adam, and Rocky all turned to see Billy standing there looking at Jason's handiwork. "Still mad about earlier?"

"What?" Jason asked in a grumble, blushing when Billy pointed to the locker. "Oh that. My bad, bro. Got a little carried away. I'll, uh, I'll pay for that or something."

"Don't worry about it," Billy replied. "Look I hate to break this up, but you guys need to come now. The girls are outside but we can't find Kimberly. Speaking of which, where's Tommy?"

"Probably out there getting his groove on with our resident pinkie," Adam answered with a smile.

"What?" Billy asked in shock. "You're kidding me, right? They're in the same building for the first time since Murianthis and they're back together?"

"Well, I don't know if they're back together but something's going on," Jason answered with a shrug. "And something tells me this isn't the first time they've seen each other since Murianthis. Tommy's a good guy, but he knows how to hold a grudge, even towards Kimberly. Plus, he told me that _she_ kissed _him_. She wouldn't have done that if their issues weren't already worked out, and they haven't exactly had time for a quiet chat, have they?"

"Dude. You're right," Rocky muttered in dumbfounded realization. "You think…you think he knows, like, why she hasn't talked to any of us in a decade?"

"Who knows? Who cares?" Adam asked in reply. "We're all here now. If Kim had something _that_ important to tell us, I'm sure she would."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Zack added. He and Justin had just come back from their side of the locker room to rejoin the rest of the all-male group. "So, what's up, Billy-man? Where do we need to go?"

"Let's get Tommy and Kimberly and go to the briefing room," Billy answered. "We think the Infernians might be planning to attack soon."

"Shit," Justin whispered. All eyes turned to him as he put up his arms in defense. "What? I'm twenty-two not twelve. If you assholes can say it so can I."

"Well, well, well. The little shit grew up," Adam replied, ruffling Justin's hair a bit. "Aww, I bet his voice still squeaks when he talks. By the way, Billy, thanks for the ride. I probably would have gone all Jason and shit on you if I got something crappy."

"Actually, I almost got you a black Celica just to piss you off," Billy retorted with a smile as the others laughed quietly. "Seriously though guys, we need to go. We needed to go five minutes ago."

"Well then lead the way, oh great and fearless leader," Jason joked, pointing towards the door.

Billy rolled his eyes and made for the door with the other guys right behind him. When they reached the door he stopped and turned around to look at Jason.

"Don't let Tommy know you called me that. He might get jealous," he said softly, shooting Jason a quick wink.

Jason gave a quiet chuckle and pushed Billy the rest of the way out of the locker room where they found the girls staring towards the row of cars at the opposite end of the Ranger Room. From his vantage point, Jason could see the hood up on Tommy's Camaro and was barely able to make out the figure of Tommy looking down at the engine with his arm wrapped around Kim's shoulder.

"Jason Lee Scott!" Trini hissed, almost pouncing on him. "What do you know about _that?_" she asked, pointing towards Tommy and Kimberly. "And don't tell me 'nothing,' either. Tommy's your best friend so I know you know something and I'll know if you don't tell me what I know you know."

"Sounds like you _know _a lot," Rocky muttered under his breath.

It got a laugh from the guys but was loud enough to earn him a glare from Trini. When her dark eyes met his it was like the little girl crawling out of the television in _The Grudge._ As he sank back to hide behind Adam and Zack with red cheeks as he promised himself he'd never say anything to piss Trini off again.

The look was scary enough. He didn't need to know what the hands and feet were capable of. And, if she and Jason were as close as they seemed to be, he had a good enough idea of what those hands and feet could really do. Physical examples would be unnecessary, thank you very much.

With Rocky out of sight, Trini turned her attention back to Jason. His momentary reprieve from her wrath had disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. Shaking his head, he put up his hands as if to tell her he didn't know. All that got him was an eye roll.

"Seriously, Tri, I have no idea," Jason said defensively. "Tommy told me that she kissed him and that was the end of it."

"He told you she kissed him and you didn't ask questions?" Trini asked dumbfounded. "I thought you were his best friend. Aren't best friends supposed to talk about that kind of stuff?"

"We did talk," Jason answered honestly. "He told me she kissed him, I said 'good' and then asked if he wanted to mess with Rocky. That's about all you're gonna get from guys like us, sweetheart."

Where had that come from? He never called anyone "sweetheart" especially not Trini. Well, no one but Betty from the diner, but she didn't count. The term of endearment didn't go unnoticed either. The guys snickered behind his back and Trini…was that a blush? He couldn't be sure, but her cheeks did look a little redder than usual. Not much, but enough to be noticeable.

"You really don't know anything?" Trini asked defiantly. She wanted to trust that he was being honest, but the fact that he and Kimberly had been so close at one point was making his ignorance hard to believe. "Like why she wouldn't get changed around the rest of us?"

"Trini, I don't know anything about anything other than what Tommy told me. Everything he told me, I've told you," Jason replied. "And I don't have the first clue as to why Kimberly wouldn't change around you guys. If I did, I'd tell you. It's always been like that with us."

Now_that _was _definitely_ a blush on her face. Thankfully, Rocky decided to act up again, or things might have gotten really interesting between Jason and Trini. As he cupped his hands and brought them to his mouth, Adam turned to the rest of the guys and Aisha did the same with the girls.

"Plug your ears," they both warned, but it was too late.

"Yooooooooooo! Tooooommmmmmy and Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim!" Rocky yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. "Geeeeeeeeeet ooooooooooooover heeeeeeeeeeeeere!"

"Shit!" Tommy cursed loudly. Rocky's yelling had caught him off guard and, when he lifted his head to look up he hadn't remembered that it was under the hood of his new car. Rubbing the back of his head, he ducked out from underneath the car and looked at Rocky. "DeSantos! You're a dead man!"

"Rocky," Jason muttered. "Run!"

His words fell on deaf ears, though. Actually they fell on ears that weren't even there. Rocky was already gone in a dead sprint towards the exit door. Realizing that Rocky's head start would be too much to catch up to, Tommy decided not to give chase, instead opting to join the others with Kimberly at his side, her arms wrapped around one of his and her head resting on his shoulder.

"What's up guys?" Tommy asked, still rubbing his head with his free hand.

"We were gonna ask you the same thing, flyboy," Aisha laughed. "You two were looking pretty cozy over there."

As Tommy's cheeks grew red, Kim stared back at her old friend defiantly. Preparing a witty remark, she opened her mouth to deliver it but Billy jumped in before she could say anything.

"Guys, as much as I'd love for us all to sit here and dissect the ever fluctuating EKG that is Tommy and Kimberly's relationship, we don't have time," Billy interjected. "We need to get to the briefing room and we need to do it now. We'll talk when this is over."

As much as they loved to joke with each other, they also knew when it was time to put the joking aside, get serious, and get down to business. As the official, yet unofficial, leader, Tommy nodded his head for the rest of the group and Jason gestured for Billy to lead the way as they followed him towards the exit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Flughafen Stuttgart_

_12:22 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 9:22 p.m. Central European Time_

A Boeing 747 painted in a sleek shade of black sat on one of the runways at the Stuttgart Airport, its' engines rumbling loudly as they started to come to life. The pilot had just received instructions to take off five minutes ago after the beige colored Mercedes-Benz taxicab had fully exited the runway area and the female passenger it was carrying had boarded the aircraft.

Dark shadows concealed the face of the man seated at the small table on the private plane. His hands were extended across the table enveloping the smaller ones of his female companion on the other side. Though the shadows mostly prevented her from seeing his face, she could still see the bottom of it and the proud smile he wore as he stroked the tops of her hands with his thumbs.

Because he was proud of her, she was proud of herself. She had made him happy, the only thing she aspired to do. Every move she made was for him, and after what he had done for her, doing her best to make him happy was the least she could do.

He and her brother had been in prison together, both on the same charges. Charges she dare not speak in front of him in fear of his reaction. She had learned long ago not to bring up the past, a past that, if mentioned, tended to make him _very_ angry.

The man sitting in front of her had saved her brothers' life when a prison fight had broken out over a pickup game of basketball. When he got out of jail, her brother told her all about it and when the man had gotten out she used the skills she had obtained as an Army sharpshooter to get a job working for him. Since going to work for him a year ago, she had devoted her entire life to paying him back for saving her brother's life in prison.

"You've done well, my dear," he said quietly without even a trace of an accent. He was an American through and through.

"Thank you, sir," she replied humbly. "The Infernians will have Earth and we will have our place and our reward. I promise I will not fail you."

"I know you won't, Kate," he continued, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek with it. "You've never let me down before. Why would that change now?"

There was a level of uncertainty in his voice that she didn't initially pick up on when he first spoke, but as he continued, she slowly began to realize that he doubted her abilities to get the job done. She couldn't have that; not when they were so close to having their plan succeed.

Her hands started to tremble as she struggled to grip his tighter. She had to make him know, make him understand, that she was capable of doing whatever it was he wanted, or needed, her to do. His eyes stayed trained on hers, only momentarily fluttering to look behind her.

"I'm sorry, Kate," he muttered.

"No…" she muttered quietly, as he reached under the table and grabbed the two pairs of handcuffs next to him on the seat. In one quick movement he slapped one of the cuffs on her right hand and attached it to the table leg.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, tears filling her eyes. "Please, stop! I did everything you wanted me to do! I never failed you!"

"I know, dear. That's why this is so hard," he answered.

Realizing he was going to kill her, she tried to struggle but to no avail. With another quick motion of his arm, he had her left hand cuffed to the leg on the opposite end of the table. As tears fell down her face, she tried with all her might to get free from the cuffs. She was barely 110 pounds though and the metal was much too strong for her to break.

His eyes fluttered again. Even with the shadows hiding the top half of his face, she could still barely make out his eyes looking behind her. And then he leaned forward, a deep scar running from the top of his forehead and through his eye, almost reaching the top of his lips.

How could he do this to her? His face was hideous. Most women couldn't even bear to look at him yet she had looked past it for him. _FOR HIM, DAMMIT! _She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs to make him realize how much she had done for him but she was unable to speak. His lips met hers in a hard kiss as a pair of hands slowly started to creep around her neck.

The kiss had done its' job and distracted her long enough. Her hands, covered with black leather driving gloves tightly holding a garrote wire in them, yanked the wire back against her neck immediately stopping her from breathing. With her hands cuffed to the table she was helpless to stop the attack.

Her eyes widened as a smile crept across the man's face… then everything went black. The silent assassin had broken her windpipe and killed her. A pair of keys came towards the assassin and was plucked out of the air as the woman's killer began to take the handcuffs off.

Once her hands were free from the cuffs her body slouched against the chair and then fell to the floor at the assassin's movements. The squeaking of a body being dragged across hardwood came in the room as, well, as her body was drug across the hardwood floor and then deposited right in front of the emergency exit door.

"Leave it there," the man said coldly. There wasn't even a hint of remorse in his voice for what had just happened. "We'll kick it out once we're crossing over the ocean."

With a simple head nod, the assassin, a pencil thin brunette woman in glasses and a leather jacket, started back towards the table. It was none other than Jane Ackman, the British woman Billy had warned the Rangers about. Her cab had arrived only three minutes before her victim's taxi and she had hidden behind her seat, waiting for the man to signal her.

And if to add insult to injury, she retrieved a shuriken from her pocket and, with perfect aim, put it right in the center of the woman's forehead. The man shook his head but didn't voice his disapproval, mostly in fear of meeting the same fate as his former, and currently dead, companion. Jane was tough; a fully trained MI-6 agent with the capability to kill someone in a myriad of ways, more than she could even count. He knew better than to cross her, even if he was technically the one in charge of the operation.

"Why did you have to do that, Jane?" he asked with a smug grin. "You ruined her pretty face."

"Calling card, love," she replied, laying a kiss on his cheek. "All good assassins have to have a calling card. That way we know who killed who and we can admire each other's work."

"You're morbid, but I love you, Ms. Ackman" he winked in return. "We're going to be filthy rich when this is over and that little bitch is going to pay for what she did to me."

"Indeed we are, Mr. Gross. Indeed we are," she added with a head nod as he took her hands in his. "I love you too, and yes, she is going to pay."

With a wicked smile on his face, Erik Gross leaned across the table and planted a soft kiss on the lips of his companion as the plane's wheels began to lift off the ground. A minute or so later the plane was up and in the air with Los Angeles as its destination.

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_Briefing Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA_

_12:32 p.m._

A little over five minutes. That's how long the Rangers had sat in the briefing room and listened to Billy talk. Using intelligence gathered by the bureau over the past two years, he explained in great detail what the NBMAA thought was going to happen and the potential threat of the Infernians to them, and to Earth as well.

A little under two minutes. That's how long the Rangers actually_ needed_ to listen to Billy tell them about the Infernians to know that this new threat was astronomically tougher than any other evil being that they had done battle with in the past.

The Infernians weren't concerned with playing fair. The villains they had fought in the past would wait to engage the Rangers while they morphed or called for their Zords. The Infernians would offer them no such luxuries. The humanoid looking aliens would attack without hesitation regardless of whether or not the Rangers were prepared for it.

They all knew they'd have to be ready, on their toes every step of the way, or risk something far darker than any of them wished to discuss. The very real possibility of what could happen when they were in the field was left alone in silent understanding. With this group, danger wasn't discussed, only dealt with.

With tired eyes Billy used the pocketsize laser pointer in his hand to point at a map of the United States going back and forth between three of the largest metropolitan areas in the state of California: Los Angeles, the Bay Area and San Diego. Though of no significance to the Rangers, on the map the three locations formed a nearly perfect straight line starting at San Francisco on top running through Los Angeles and stopping at San Diego.

What did this mean? Well, for starters it meant that all three areas were at risk. Billy didn't have to verbalize that for the rest of the group to understand what he was trying to tell them. This day meant a lot of things outside of their impromptu reunion.

For starters the San Francisco Giants were set to play the Los Angeles Dodgers at 5:00 p.m. at AT&T Park in the heart of San Francisco. Just a baseball game, right? Wrong! Projections were between forty-eight and fifty thousand people in attendance to witness the game that would decide which of the hated rivals made it into the playoffs.

That's fifty thousand people just in the stands. Those projections didn't include vendors, stadium employees, players, team staff members, broadcasters or anyone else who didn't have a ticket. Plus, the waterfront location of the stadium on the China Basin made it a prime spot for what Billy, and the NBMAA, believed the Infernians were planning to do there.

On top of that, a small town outside of Los Angeles was playing host to one of the biggest film festivals to hit the nation in recent years. Throughout the weeklong event, officials were predicting close to one-hundred thousand people showing up. Almost every hotel in and around the greater Los Angeles area had been booked solid for over a month before the film festival.

Throw in the National Surfing Championship in San Diego with the fifteen to twenty thousand people attending and the former Rangers were looking at a close to two hundred thousand people in potential hotspots across the state. Five-hundred miles lay between San Francisco and San Diego, the northern and southernmost cities being looked at; quite a bit of ground to cover for a group of almost thirties with no powers or Zords at their disposal.

To say they were nervous about what they were being asked to do would be a vast understatement. But for these people, this tight knit group who had so often gone to war with each other and never failed, nervousness and fear were not options that they could exercise.

They had to be the strong ones, the brave few who would always answer the call when the defenseless were in need. The world needs heroes. It always has. In times of great peril there are always a few people that come to the aid of the many.

For this generation, the eleven joined together in the briefing room of a secret government agency preparing to enter battle, along with their currently-in-transit Australian import, were those heroes. Tommy, Jason, Adam and Justin had proved that on multiple occasions, responding to the call for help long after their tours of duty had ended. To be fair though, every one of them but Katherine were all in the room together, a sign that no call for help would ever go unanswered.

With a somber expression on his face, Tommy looked to his left and stared down at Kimberly. He was posing a silent question and she knew that. He wanted, no, needed to know if she was up for this, for saving the world again.

A shy half-smile crossed her lips as their eyes met and she nodded her head to answer. Understanding that she was ready he nodded back and turned his attention to Jason, posing the same query he had offered to Kimberly. As Jason nodded he continued around the table to Trini, Zack, Tanya, Justin, Rocky, Aisha and Adam.

Nothing but confirming head nods came from them except for Rocky who thought the middle finger followed by a smile and a wink would be a much better answer. Satisfied with their replies, he looked up at Billy and answered for the group.

"What do we do?" he asked softly.

"Jason, Tommy, Adam come up here, please," Billy instructed, waiting until he was flanked by the two former leaders and Adam before holding up three fingers and continuing. "Three teams; one of three people and two of four. Pick your teams."

"What?!" Tommy asked in dumbfounded shock. "You want us to pick teams? Are you nuts? Why do we have to separate?'

The looks on the faces of the other Rangers showed they were sharing the same sentiment as their leader. None of them wanted to separate, especially Kim who, at the thought of being somewhere away from Tommy, felt her knees start to shake.

"Tommy, there are three major areas we're looking at for potential attacks today," Billy answered calmly. "The Infernians are strong, smart, and deadly, but they're also predictable. They never travel in more than a pair and when one pair makes a move, you can be sure more will follow. We can't risk having you all in one place if multiple attacks occur, especially not if they happen around the same time."

"Fine. We'll pick teams," Tommy answered reluctantly. Seeing the scared look on Kim's face he gave her a reassuring smile. "And I pick Kim."

Her fear disappeared as soon as her name escaped his lips. She sprung from her seat and ran towards him, jumping into his waiting arms as he held her tightly. Jason and Adam smiled at him before Jason motioned for Adam to make his pick.

"Rocky," Adam said simply.

His best friend got up from his place at the table and they shook hands as Rocky stood to Adam's right. Taking a step back, Adam offered the floor to Jason.

"I'll take Zack," he answered, pointing at his oldest friend.

Honestly, Jason would have much rather been on the same team as Tommy. They knew each other as well as they knew themselves and would be a formidable team as just the two of them. However, he understood Billy's logic in appointing the three strongest ex-Rangers as team leaders.

Since he had gone last in the first round Jason got to pick again to start the second round. He chose Trini to join Zack by his side. Adam followed with Aisha and Tommy took Justin with his pick. How he had missed it before he didn't know, but Adam suddenly remembered what Billy had said to them just a few minutes earlier. One team of three and two teams of four.

So carry the two, add a seven then find the common denominator but wait! Don't do anything yet. You can't forget to raise it to the power of thirteen or you'll screw up the whole entire equation. Once you've done that multiply both sides by X, divide by nine and you get…well, I don't think that you'd get the same number that Adam got.

Using intensely complicated calculations, the number Adam got was an odd whole number that was somewhere in the region between ten and twelve. So, that would be eleven, right?

Cocky bastard. Look at that smug grin he has on his face. He knows he's better at math than I am and he just won't let it go. One of these times when he least it expects it I'm gonna…what!? Oh, that's right, the story. Sorry about that. Got a little carried away there. Anyway…

"Uh, Billy, your little run through of the teams was only eleven people," Adam started "but there's twelve of us if you include Katherine. I take it you didn't just miscount."

"No, I didn't. I can't go into the field with you," Billy replied to a chorus of wide eyes and even wider mouths. "I'm sorry guys but I have to stay here. But I'll be running point and maintaining contact with all three group leaders."

"Okay then," Tommy jumped in before the rest of them could voice their disapproval and then looked at Tanya. "Tanya, since you're the only one here that doesn't have a team you should pick what team you want to be on."

She only nodded her head and moved to stand next to Zack, joining him and Trini on Jason's team. The three leaders had expected her to be mad about being the last one left but she was surprisingly calm about it. With the absent Katherine still without a team, Adam and Tommy turned to look at each other.

Adam had him read like a book. He knew having two ex-girlfriends on his team was one of the last things Tommy wanted to deal with. And, though it was unlikely, the possibility of hostility between Katherine and Kimberly finalized his decision.

"I'll take Kat when she gets here," Adam spoke as Tommy nodded in thanks and understanding.

With that, the teams were made. Team Jason was more like multiple teams united under one banner. Jason and Trini, Zack and Tanya and Jason, Trini and Zack were all their own little quasi-teams. Sizing them up, Jason nodded in approval at the team he had chosen.

Adam also had a team that he was comfortable with. He had known Rocky and Aisha since elementary school back in Stone Canyon. They knew each other's tendencies well and their team was probably the strongest of the three based solely on familiarity. Add Katherine, who had fought with all of them, into the mix and "probably" started to look a whole lot like "definitely".

Looking at Justin and Kimberly, Tommy was actually quite satisfied with his team. Sure, he would have loved to have Jason on his team and he knew that his friend felt the same way, but that just wasn't in the cards for them. Besides, he had picked his team strategically.

Justin and Kimberly were smaller and faster than he was which balanced out the brute strength he often relied on now that he was older. At one point he had been faster than all of them but a broken foot at fourteen and his refusal to obey doctor's orders and sit out his martial arts classes had led to problems later on.

The operation to repair ligament damage two years after graduating from college had severely diminished his speed, but he wasn't slow by any stretch of the imagination. Just slow_**er**_In high school he could run almost five miles in the time it took Bulk to run one. Now it was probably closer to three.

With his team by his side, Kim on his right and Justin on his left, he slipped his arm around Kim's waist and rested his other hand on Justin's shoulder. As if it was expected of him because of his position, Tommy raised his eyes to look up at Billy.

"What do we do now?"

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_Pier 19, San Francisco, CA_

_12: 43 p.m._

No sunlight entered the abandoned warehouse in the Marina District of one of the most populated and diverse cities in the country. Every window was boarded up, every door was closed, and with good reason too.

At the center of the old warehouse, a small card table was holding an opened briefcase with three bodies standing around the table looking at its' contents. Inside the black leather case were four gray, unmarked plastic containers. Oval shaped and small, they held the key to one of many plans the Infernians were waiting to put into action.

"I'll take my money now," one of them, a female, said with the slightest trace of an Australian accent that had obviously been more prominent at one point in time.

"Not until we have tested this," another replied, gently lifting one of the precious containers from the briefcase. "I won't pay you until I know that these things are actually functional."

"I assure you it works just like my people promised you it would," the Australian added in defense.

"Then you should have no problem with us testing it," he shot back.

"Fine," she relented, rolling her eyes. "Just hurry up with it."

The Australian woman watched as the two others walked across the room to another table that was supporting a clear cage with a tiny white rabbit inside. The man without the container nodded to his companion, who opened the cage and placed the small canister inside of it. When the curious rabbit went to inspect what it thought was a new toy, it was forcefully pushed back against the cage. Whimpering, the rabbit ran to the far corner of its cage and laid down with a dejected expression,

Snickering at his actions towards the defenseless animal, the man flipped open a panel on the container and set the timer on the device for one minute. He shut the cage and stepped back, the two of them staring intently at the digital timer as it started to count down to zero. They were joined a few seconds later by the Australian, who appeared to be just as interested in seeing what happened to the rabbit.

But when the timer finally reached zero, nothing happened. No explosion or big bang, nothing. With a look of fury one of the men grabbed the Aussie by her shirt collar and threw her against the steel wall. Using one arm to keep her from moving, he pulled out a handgun and pushed the barrel against her temple.

"Why didn't it work!" he yelled.

The Australian shook violently at the sound of the gun cocking back as she struggled to keep her composure. There was a reason it hadn't worked. She just had to calm herself down enough to tell them.

"The-the containers…they work on a time delayed system," she managed to sputter. He released the pressure on her neck a little at that. Not enough to let her down, but enough to let her talk without struggling to breathe. "If you set it for thirty seconds it won't go off until forty-five seconds have gone by. It's got a reaction time of one and a half so you have enough time to get away before it goes off."

As if on command, a faint hissing noise started coming from the table, distracting the man enough to get him to let the woman down from the wall. The three of them turned in unison to look at the cage and the canister inside of it. Though nothing was visibly exiting from the canister, the sound emanating from it was enough to tell them that it was indeed fully functional. Less than ten seconds after the hissing had ceased the trio moved in a little bit closer to observe the rabbit.

The clear substance that had just been released for the rabbit to be exposed to worked in three relatively quick phases. However, if it was used on humans the symptoms wouldn't appear as quickly and the individual phases would also last longer. The first phase, which they were currently watching, was aptly named the Attraction Phase. When the male rabbit continuously tried to mount the container to no avail, it was obvious why it had been named that.

Next was the Symptom Phase. Staring at the rabbit, they watched as its' eyes started to grow red and glaze over, white foam pouring out the sides of its' mouth. Hair was falling out in big balls as the creature threw itself against the Plexiglas cage in an attempt to break free. The Australian woman felt a pang of guilt for allowing this to happen, but she couldn't let them see that. One simple look of remorse or regret and everything she had worked for would be lost.

Finally, all that was left for the infected was the Death Phase. Recognizing its fate, the rabbit curled itself into a ball and closed its' eyes… never to open them again. The three stages occurred in the small creature in three minute intervals of each other, a time that would be exponentially multiplied when used on a human.

Three minutes of incessant nonstop horniness, three minutes of rabid anger, and three minutes to die for the rabbit. Turn those minutes into days and you've got the reaction to the virus on a human scale.

Satisfied with the results, the two men motioned for the woman to follow them as they made their way back across the room. Under the table holding the briefcase was the carrying case for a laptop computer. One of the men extracted the laptop and set it on the table, pushing the power button as they waited for it to come to life. Once the computer was on and they had established an internet connection, the other man opened up a web browser. He typed in a web address, hit enter and then turned to face the Australian woman.

"Bank account information," he said commandingly.

"It's an offshore account with the Bank of Zurich in Switzerland," she answered calmly. She would be happy when this was all over and done with. These guys were too much even for her to want to deal with. "Account name is ZR1PNKWC, account number 11895-91197. Don't forget, it's fifty million dollars."

He only nodded his head and grunted in reply. It took a few minutes for the transfer to go through and when it finally had, he turned the computer towards her so she could see it for herself. Fifty million American dollars had been safely transferred to her Swiss bank account. With a satisfied grin, she nodded her head to him.

"Good," she said, extending her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you both."

"Indeed," one of them replied, shaking her hand tightly. "We'll be in touch if we need anything else."

"I would hope so," she finished, turning on her heels to leave the warehouse.

It took a few minutes to get out of the warehouse and when she had finally made it back into the warm sunlight of the City by the Bay, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pink Motorola RAZR. Holding down the "2" key, she brought the phone to her ear and started to walk towards the other end of the street. On the third ring she stopped, input a series of numbers and sent them using the pound key.

By the time she reached the white Ford Explorer at the end of the street she had done that six more times; twice after the fifth ring, twice after the eleventh ring and twice after the twenty-second ring. She only would have had to do them each once but she lost count somewhere after sixteen the first time through. Finally, the line clicked and an automated female voice answered as she climbed into the vehicle.

_NBMAA. Input authorization code now._ She hit a five, then a two, and lastly an eight. _Authorization code accepted. Please enter the extension of the party you are trying to reach._ Two, four, five, five, nine were pressed in order, and it started to ring again. After five rings the line clicked once more and this time a familiar male voice answered.

_You've reached the voicemail of William Cranston, Assistant Director of Operations for the National Bureau for the Monitoring of Alien Activity. I'm currently out of my office, so please leave a brief message at the tone and either myself or my secretary will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you._

Sighing, she turned the key in the ignition and waited for the beep so she could leave him a message. She wanted to talk to him, to let him know she was okay. _He must be with the Rangers,_ she thought. A few seconds later the tone that she had been waiting for reached her ear as she pulled the SUV out onto the street.

"Billy, it's Katherine. I'm on my way back to the hotel now. Call me when you can," she said normally then lowered her voice. "Everything went according to plan. The Infernians have the virus."

_12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59..._

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_Woah. Things are getting very interesting, aren't they? I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about Katherine, Billy and where their allegiances lie. I could be a jerk and tell you to wait or I could just tell you right now but I'm not going to do either. Instead, I'll tell you that the answer to that particular question lies somewhere in this chapter. It shouldn't be that hard to find. On another note, big shout out to my new beta, Melinda. She's the reason all my punctuation is correct and pretty LOL. Hope you guys liked this chapter. Talk to you soon._

_WK_


	6. 1:00 pm

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Events occur in real time._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_-------------------------

_Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA_

_1:00 p.m._

Ten former Power Rangers stood side-by-side in front of two long and connected wooden tables. On top rested four black leather brief cases, their contents exposed. Each case, while containing something they would all need for their missions, held ten similar items with a spot in all four of the cases where an eleventh item had once been.

Jason, Trini, and Justin stood in front of the first case at the far left end of the table. Reaching into the briefcase, Jason pulled out a cell phone and an earpiece, both in his first Ranger color: red. Trini retrieved a set identical to Jason's, yellow of course, followed by Justin who extracted a blue cell phone and earpiece.

As Justin plugged the hands free device into his phone and inserted the bud into his ear, Zack and Tanya had just finished getting their items from the case to Justin's right. On her left wrist, Tanya now wore a silver colored metal wristband with a yellow faceplate. Matching Tanya, Zack wore the same silver wristband, the only difference being that his faceplate was black in color.

On Zack's right side were Adam, Rocky, and Aisha, the latter of whom was currently in the process of taking fake target practice, shooting imaginary pulse blasts into the shadows of the Ranger Room with the NBMAA's standard issue blaster pistol. Whereas the agents all used solid black pistols, hers obviously contained some bit of yellow in it, specifically thin stripes down the barrel.

While she pretended to shoot invisible bad guys, Rocky was on timeout in the back corner of the room, put in his current position of ostracism by the woman he was dating. The moral of the story? Don't ever, even in jest, point a gun at your girlfriend unless you want to be given a timeout.

Adam had already holstered his pistol and was looking over Kim's shoulder, waiting for her and Tommy to finish so he could get the last of his items. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Tommy pull out a small gold coin, the symbol of the falcon emblazoned on it. The tiny brunette felt her eyes well up with tears as she pulled out her own coin, branded with an image of the crane.

It had been so long since she had held a Power Coin, even a replica like these ones. Jason, Zack, and Trini had all gotten to keep their Power Coins with identical copies made for their replacements. But theirs hadn't been furbished with the power of Ninjetti. No working copy could ever be made from a coin infused with Ninjetti power.

In giving her coin to Katherine, she had transferred almost all of her power to the blonde Australian girl, but not all of it. The crane was Kimberly's Ninjetti Spirit, not Katherine's. Kimberly offering Katherine her Ninjetti coin was like loaning a DVD to a friend or neighbor. They may have had it in terms of physical possession but it would never really be _theirs_.

The last traces of her Ninjetti power and the crane inside her was the only thing, the only secret that she had ever kept from Tommy. Truth be told, she didn't even know that she still had the powers until long after Tommy had left Florida to prepare for the moon mission with the other Red Rangers. Even then, finding the power that still resided in her was a complete mistake.

Two months after she and Tommy had parted indefinitely for the second time, third if you count the events following Murianthis, she had a dream. To be fair, it was more of a nightmare really.

In her dream she was walking up the steps of her apartment building, climbing slowly towards the door to the roof. Seemingly out of nowhere, she panicked and started to run faster and faster up the stairs until she reached the top and practically kicked the door off of its' hinges. Stepping out of the stairwell and onto the roof, she stared in horror as her ex-boyfriend Erik Gross pushed Tommy to his imminent death from somewhere around twenty or so stories off the ground.

Her instinct kicked in and she sprinted towards the ledge, jumping down after him without the slightest hint of fear or hesitation. Freefalling towards the ground, she yelled the words "Ninjetti Crane!" and felt a surge of power in her body. She utilized the added power to push herself faster towards Tommy, catching him and landing on her feet mere seconds before he would have hit the cement sidewalk.

Bolting upright in her bed, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead, the then twenty-four year-old Kimberly Hart breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that it had all just been a very terrible and scary dream. A few hours later that relief immediately turned into a mixture of shock and surprise when she moved to climb out of her bed the next morning and saw that she was dressed in her pink Ninjetti robes.

Without an active Power Coin she couldn't morph completely but she could still access the Power of the Crane if it was ever needed. So far, it hadn't been needed. She could only hope that her powers would continue to remain like that.

"What are these for, Billy?" Rocky asked, holding up his own. "Give me a toy Morpher and we can play Mighty Morphin' Make Believe Rangers. I wanna be white. He always gets the hot girls."

While Kim and Tommy both blushed profusely, the others all tried to stifle their oncoming laughs. Billy, on the other hand, simply glared back at Rocky with angry eyes. He didn't find it funny, not even a little bit. They were about to leave on the most dangerous missions of their lives and Rocky had the gall to crack jokes? Tommy noticed that Billy didn't seem very happy about Rocky's need to make wisecracks.

"Sorry, Billy," Tommy spoke up, simultaneously silencing his friends before things got out of hand. "Seriously, though. Why do we have fake Power Coins?"

"For luck," Billy answered truthfully.

It was a profound statement, one that struck the former Rangers quite deeply. Not to mention sentimentally, as well. The coins of old, when infused with the power of dinosaurs, legendary beasts and spirit animals, had always offered them protection. These new coins, though nothing more than simple replicas of their old ones, were forged by Billy to act as good luck charms for his friends.

The ten nodded in understanding with Rocky offering Billy an apologetic smile for his earlier joke about the coins. Billy returned the smile in acceptance of Rocky's apology as the rest of the group navigated their way around the tables to gather the rest of their items.

Firing an invisible shot of her own into the shadows, Trini immediately tensed up at the feeling of a hand coming to rest on the small of her back. Just from the familiarity of the hand touching her she immediately knew who it was but chose not to acknowledge the gesture right away.

For as much as she wanted to turn around and throw herself at him, what was the point? He had a life in Angel Grove. She had a life in New York. They probably wouldn't have even seen each other during her trip to California if it hadn't been for Billy's intervention in bringing them all in.

She had to curse herself for these feelings coming back to her once again. There had always been a level of admiration that she held for her closest male friend. They could work hard together but play even harder. He didn't have to ask questions to know what she was thinking or feeling; something she loved in him.

"Remember when we used to feed each other Play-Doh hot dogs in that little playhouse in your backyard?" Jason asked softly, casually rubbing his hand up and down her back.

"Mmhmm," she answered nonchalantly, eyes still trained on her invisible targets. She wanted that to be the end of it, for Jason to accept her answer and walk away. Unfortunately, his mind wasn't going in the same direction as hers.

Laying his hands on top of hers, he slowly pushed the gun down towards the ground and used the hold he had on her hands to turn her body towards him. With the way she had been standing, he hadn't been able to see the tears slowly filling her eyes but now that they were face-to-face, those tears were impossible to ignore.

_Why is she crying? Trini never cries. She's always the strong one, even when she doesn't want to be. Is she crying because of me? Did I do something wrong? All I did was try to talk to her. I couldn't have done anything to make her cry… could I?_

"Trini, sweetie, are you okay?" Jason asked compassionately.

As Trini nodded her head and tried to come up with a real answer for him, Tommy, with his arms loosely folded across his chest, decided to jokingly nudge Kimberly with the side of his elbow. She looked up at him and, sporting a silly grin on her face, returned the elbow nudge, leaning up against his side in the process. Wearing an equally goofy smile, he did it again and pretty soon they were engaged in an all out war of delivering and receiving elbow nudges.

From there it escalated until the nudges turned in to playful pushes. One push, from Kimberly, was just a tad too hard and forced Tommy backwards, colliding into Jason at the same time. Tommy's momentum as he hit Jason sent his best friend barreling into Trini, knocking them both down in the process, leaving them in a rather compromising position. He was on top of her, their faces and lips just inches from touching.

Their eyes met and, for a very brief moment, Jason gave serious consideration to risking over twenty years of friendship by kissing her. She would have let him too but it never got that far. Billy's loud throat clear interrupted them and Trini turned her head away as Jason begrudgingly pushed himself up off the floor.

"Oh Trini," Rocky muttered to Adam, holding his friends' hands. "I can't quit you."

"I know, Jason. I know," Adam replied, touching Rocky's cheek with the back of his hand. "Just hold me, baby. Everything will be okay."

Rocky and Adam let out faux sniffles as they embraced each other to a chorus of laughter from everyone in the room not named Jason Scott. Even Billy, who hadn't been much for any joking, and Trini, the butt of their joke, seemed to find the pairs shenanigans rather amusing. Jason, on the other hand, looked like he could punch a hole in the middle of a brick wall and not even flinch in the process.

She could see that he was far from happy about being poked fun at. Slowly and hesitantly, Trini reached out and laid a careful hand on his elbow. Coupled with the touch, when he looked down and saw the half smile on her face, every ounce of bitterness and anger that he was feeling towards Rocky and Adam had evaporated.

Jason formed a smile of his own as he reached out for Trini's hand. The sudden wailing of an alarm, eerily reminiscent to the one in the Power Chamber, entered the room, preventing Jason another shot at making his move. He could practically feel his blood begin to boil, basically drowning out Tommy's voice that was fighting for top volume with the alarm.

"Billy!" Tommy yelled, barely audible over the alarm's high-pitched blaring. "What the hell is going on, man!? Is it an attack!?"

"Affirmative!" Billy shouted back, a hint of panic in his voice as he ran to a computer station.

Typing in a sequence of keys, the alarm went off and the screen sprang to life, displaying an image of central Angel Grove. Multiple red circles ran across the screen with each keystroke that came from Billy who was desperately trying to triangulate the source of the attack. It took close to three minutes for him to finally locate where the attack was happening. By the time he did, he almost wished he hadn't.

"Billy, what's wrong?" Tanya asked in concern. "You look like you just saw a ghost!"

"E-Er-Ernie. T-t-the…" he sputtered, pointing at the screen. "It-it's the Youth Center. The Youth Center is being attacked."

"Oh my God, you guys," Aisha interjected, her hands over her mouth, "we have to do something! Ernie was like another father to us!"

"More like the Grim Reaper for Tommy," Rocky muttered, biting his tongue as soon as the words escaped his lips.

He had tried to keep it in but it just worked so perfectly. They couldn't expect him to keep something like that in when Aisha had simply given him an opening to make a dig at Tommy. Those were few and far between. He was so sure the one Adam had gotten in the locker room earlier was going to be the last one for another ten years but then Aisha had just done it. In all reality, it was only perfect for six of them, one of which was their former leader who looked something like a really tall and skinny tomato.

_Especially with that stupid hair. Looks just like the stem of a tomato. Geez, that's almost as bad as the ponytail,_ Rocky thought silently, an almost sadistic grin on his face. _Man, I should really keep these things to myself more often. It's better 'cause they can't hear me which means Aisha can't put me on timeout and Trini can't glare at me. _Trini looked over and glared at him. _Oh, that's bullshit. There's no way. She's like a superhuman freak or something._

"Superhuman, yes," Trini whispered into Rocky's ear. His eyes and mouth fell wide open at that. "But a freak, no."

A trickle of drool oozed its way out of the corner of his mouth as he turned to look at her. He pointed his finger right in her face, almost touching her nose.

"You-you-you," Rocky tried. Nothing was coming to him though. "You-you-you she-devil of a witch!"

Trini gave that a contemplative grin which only led to the further fueling of Rocky's internal fire. His face was almost as red as Tommy's though for entirely different reasons. The others had all turned to look at what was happening the moment Rocky started to get loud and Tommy's face had gone from tomato red to a little bit darker than watermelon pink.

"Wait!" Kimberly yelled, stopping things from getting carried away. Like a group of soldiers obeying their drill sergeant, ten former Power Rangers turned in unison to look at her, a satisfied grin on her face. "I don't get it. Why is Ernie like the Grim Reaper for Tommy?"

"Uhh," six sets of mouths practically hit the floor in reply. Neither Tommy, Billy, Adam, Rocky, Katherine or Tanya knew what to say to that. "Uhh…you tell her."

Six fingers were all pointed at a different ex-Ranger, all of them able, but none of them willing, to answering the question. Where they had been obedient soldiers to Kimberly, they quickly became Missing in Action for their old leader.

"Tommy tells her!" the five of them yelled, all swinging around to point at him.

Poor Tommy had gone right back to tomato red. He looked at Kimberly, hoping for some sort of sympathy, but he wasn't going to get it from her. She had her hands firmly planted on the side of her hips in absolute defiance. Seeing that he was defeated, Tommy started to scan the room, thinking of a way to get out of this situation.

"I, uh-I, uh…" Tommy started. His eyes kept going back and forth across the room until they fell on Billy's computer. Jackpot! "Guys! Ernie!"

"Duh," Kim shot back. "We're waiting for you tell us why Ernie is the…"

"No," Tommy cut her off before she could finish. That went over like a fart in church. Now Kim looked pissed instead of just defiant but Tommy didn't really have time to worry about her feelings at that moment. "We're talking about Ernie 'cause the Youth Center's about to be attacked! We got so caught up in everything else that we forgot about Ernie!"

The anger on Kimberly's face was gone, along with the curiosity of the former Rangers who hadn't been around for the Zeo Era, or the beginning of it in Jason's case, and were replaced with sheer concern for their old friend.

"Shit, shit, shit," Billy spat, pacing frantically in circles. He kept spinning around until he hit his left wrist on the edge of a table. "Oh that's just ridiculous," he muttered, unbuttoning the cuff on his left sleeve and rolling it back for the others to see. He was wearing the same band that he had given to the Rangers. "Three buttons on each side. I'll explain them all to you when you get back. Tommy, Jason, Adam, you guys go and take care of Ernie."

"You got it," Tommy replied, slapping Adam and Jason on the back as they turned to run towards their cars. Three steps into their journey, they all stopped and spun around to face Billy in unison, all wearing embarrassed looks. "The cars aren't gonna get us there fast enough, right?"

"No. That's why I was explaining the functions of your wristbands to you," Billy answered, shaking his head. "The middle button on the left side is used for short range teleportation and is programmed for four locations in Angel Grove: here, the Youth Center, the park and the lake. Don't ask why I just picked the four spots where everything always happened. Tap it one time for here, twice for the Youth Center, three times for the park and four times for the lake. After you're done tapping, hold it in for three seconds and you'll teleport but it will only work if you're within a ten mile radius of you're destination."

"Wait," Tommy started. "You guys can teleport? How? I did three years of work with Hayley on a teleportation system and the best I got was from my bedroom to the basement."

"Aquitian technology, Tommy," Billy explained. "But it's not perfected yet. You can only go teleport in a very short range. Now go! Ernie needs you!"

Nodding their heads, the three men stepped back and looked across the room at their friends. Tommy smiled at Kimberly, Jason at Trini and with no potential girlfriend to smile at, Adam settled for smiling at Rocky. That earned him a stuck out tongue in reply, only making him smile more. A serious expression fell over Rocky's face and he gave his best friend a confident nod.

As Adam, Jason and Tommy prepared to teleport, they looked across the room and noticed that everyone was nodding their confidence in them. Pressing the middle button on the left side twice and then holding it in, they were gone in flashes of black, red, and white energy beams.

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_Room 17, Imperial Club Floor, Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, CA_

_1:14 p.m._

Katherine Hillard sighed as she collapsed into the plush recliner, conveniently positioned near the window of her lavish hotel room. Billy had spared no expense in making sure her room was comfortable, knowing her missions wouldn't be.

Aside from the breathtaking view of the San Francisco Bay, Katherine's room was outfitted with a king size bed, massive plasma screen television, a bathroom that was bigger than her whole apartment in New York, and a fully stocked bar that came complementary with the room instead of a fee per bottle; the norm for most hotels. With a freshly shaken Appletini in her hand, she stared out the window, her eyes falling on a family getting into their car.

_Am I doing the right thing here? Giving the Infernians the virus could be the beginning of the end for all of us. But Billy seems to think we're doing the right thing, and he's never let me down before. But what if he's wrong? What if things don't go as planned? Hundreds of thousands of people could die and it would be my fault. No. It has to work. They'll get the job done. They always do. If there was anyone I'd trust with the fate of the world, it's them._

Exhaling deeply, Katherine raised the glass to her lips, relishing the refreshing taste of vodka shaken with sweet and sour mix and apple juice. The cool feel of the concoction running down her throat relaxed her almost immediately. With another exaggerated sigh, she downed the drink in a big gulp and set her glass down on the small table to her right and reached for the remote control next to it.

Keeping her eyes towards the bay, she reached over her shoulder and hit the power button, the television making a soft clicking noise as it turned on. She didn't care what was on. She didn't want to watch TV; she just needed a little background noise.

_This is Channel 10 reporter Cassidy Cornell, live on the scene at the Angel Grove Youth Center in Angel Grove, California, where just moments ago three off duty policemen were viciously killed trying to protect the owner of the establishment, who at this time as only been named as Ernie, from what appeared to be two men. _Katherine dropped the remote control, spinning around to stare at the television. _At this moment we don't know the fate of Ernie or who these assailants are, but I promise you, Channel 10 will be the first to bring you the news the moment it breaks. Until then, I'm Cassidy Cornell calling for Angel Grove's Power Rangers, wherever they may be now._

The screen flickered for a moment before cutting back to the Channel 10 newsroom where the stereotypical team of a male and female anchor tried to have a legitimate conversation about the report that had just been given. Katherine couldn't be bothered with that. The only thing on her mind was poor defenseless Ernie, stuck alone in the Youth Center to deal with two crazed Infernians.

_They must have gotten the files! Or at least part of them,_ she thought to herself, rubbing her forehead._ That's the only way they'd know to look at the Youth Center. I have to call Billy. They have to help him!_

She dove across the room and snatched her purse off the bed, digging through it and throwing things all over the bed and floor until she recovered her cell phone. Dialing through the NBMAA would take too much time. She'd have to call his cell phone directly. Frantically, she dialed his number and brought the phone to her ear, biting her thumbnail and tapping her foot impatiently as the phone rang. On the third ring, the line clicked.

"Billy," she started even before he could answer. "Ernie's in trouble! It's all over the news! You have to help him, Billy! You have to!"

"Katherine, Katherine, just calm down. Take a deep breath and calm down," Billy replied gently. "Tommy, Adam, and Jason are already on their way. Everything will be okay. They're not going to let anything happen to Ernie, I promise."

"Billy, I'm scared," Katherine whimpered, her lip quivering as she spoke. "What if we didn't do the right thing? What if giving the Infernians the…"

"Katherine!" Billy snapped, almost in a shout. She heard him take a deep breath as he lowered his voice. "Katherine, _everything_ will be okay. We did this for a reason. You sacrificed a lot for this. It will all be worth it in the end."

She wanted to believe him. Really, she did. She wanted more than anything to know that Billy was right, that what they were doing was right. It just didn't seem like the right thing and certainly not something that Zordon would ever condone. That was what got her the most. Every moment she spent with an Infernian felt like a direct betrayal to her former mentor.

"I just-I think…" Katherine tried, pausing for a brief moment to pick her composure up off the floor. "I don't know what I think. I'll talk to you later."

Flipping her phone shut to end the call, she flipped it back open and held the power button down until the "goodbye" screen popped up telling her to be safe and to be courteous, or something like that. With the phone off, she closed it for the final time and tossed it on the floor, ignoring the assortment of makeup products that littered her bed as she collapsed onto it. Closing her eyes, there was only one thing on her mind.

_Please let them get there in time._

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_Angel Grove Youth Center, Gym & Juice Bar, Angel Grove, CA_

_1:19 p.m._

Right before they had left NBMAA Headquarters, Billy had told them that they hadn't perfected their teleportation system. He wasn't lying. In fact, "hadn't perfected" was a vast understatement, quite possibly the understatement of the millennium.

It had taken Adam, Jason, and Tommy nearly five minutes to get from NBMAA Headquarters to the Youth Center, a trip that would have taken less than thirty seconds when they had been Rangers. When they finally touched down in the Youth Center, the trio couldn't help but stop and stare at the place that had once been like a second home to them. Looking around the room, nothing had changed. _Nothing_. Well, nothing except for the fact that it was currently empty of all life.

Every blue karate mat, every weight machine, every table and every video game remained unchanged from when the Rangers said goodbye to the place. It was like an intense déjà vu for them. The punching bag Jason had attacked so viciously when Tommy struck as the evil Green Ranger; _their _table, the one they always shared. It was all still there.

When the initial nostalgic feelings of seeing the place again had worn off, Adam so intelligently suggested that they should probably look for Ernie. In a "it's not like Kira's just going to randomly fall out of the sky and land on the hood of your car, Dr. O," moment, the door to Ernie's back room came swinging open.

The trio of ex-Rangers turned to face the door, horror, fear, and concern littering their faces as two figures Tommy was extremely familiar with drug Ernie into the main room. He was duct taped and tied with rope to a chair, deep cuts and the beginnings of many a bruise forming all over his body.

Jason, the one who had known Ernie the longest and therefore had the strongest connection to him, moved to help his old friend, but Tommy and Adam reached out and restrained him. They still hadn't been seen yet. If Jason had just gone rushing in there headfirst, they would have lost any strategic advantage that they had over the two Infernians.

Raising a finger to his lip to silence Jason, Tommy jerked his head to the right and ducked down, instructing his two companions to follow his lead. They crept along the edge of the bar, staying down until they had gotten fully behind it. Adam had been behind Tommy and Jason, so now he was the closest to the edge, inheriting lookout duty based solely on his position. Carefully, he poked his head around the corner and saw one of the Infernians with his arm cocked high in the air.

"For the last time, where are the Power Rangers!?" one of them yelled. He had his hands resting on the arms of the chair and was bent over the top of Ernie, their faces almost touching. "We know they came here regularly! Where are they!?"

The Infernian brought his hand down fast, faster than anything Adam had ever seen before. The vicious sound it made when the open palm connected with Ernie's face made him feel like losing his breakfast right there on the floor.

All three of them had heard that. It was pretty hard not too. The Infernians didn't care about Ernie. They just wanted the Power Rangers. Being the reason that someone who cared so much about them was being punished was something that Jason couldn't deal with.

Tommy reached out to pull Jason back down as he hopped up to his feet. All he got was the hem of Jason's shirt slipping out of his fingers. Staring at the Infernians, Jason growled loud enough to move their attention from Ernie to him.

"Let him go you chicken shits!" Jason bellowed.

Tommy rolled his eyes from under the bar and punched the underside of the counter with the back of his fist. Using his other thumb, he pointed upwards to Adam who rolled his eyes as well but nodded his head anyway. They climbed onto their feet and moved to stand next to Jason, Tommy on his right and Adam on his left.

It was at that moment that Ernie felt compelled to investigate the source of the interruption. His eyes opened wide as they fell on Adam, Jason, and Tommy. Sure, he knew. He had known for a long time. But he hadn't really expected them, even just three of them, to actually show up. He would have gladly taken their secret to the grave if they hadn't postponed the Infernians' torture of him.

"You heard the man," Tommy called out, pointing his thumb at Jason, "let Ernie go. It's us you want and I promise we'll make things as quick and as painless as possible for you two jack holes."

"Oh look, the fat man has friends," the Infernian in charge sneered. Raising his arms towards the sky, his fingertips began to crackle with green lightning. "Well, meet my friends!"

With his arms high and his palms turned towards the ground, green bolts of lightning started to shoot from them. The veteran Rangers watched in anticipation until the lighting had dissipated and all that was left were a group of armored foot soldiers. The soldiers were made completely of black metal, the only color being an oversized red oval where a face should have been. Looking to Jason and then to Adam, he nodded his head and the three of them launched into front flips over the front of the counter.

"Psychobots, kill them!" one of the Infernians yelled.

With three of the creatures immediately starting to run towards him, Tommy looked to his left and ran towards the railing, corkscrewing over it and landing on the main floor next to the karate mats. He turned around just in time to land a snap kick to the chest of one of the soldiers. Ducking a punch, he pushed one in the stomach area, sending it right into the third solider, the pair of them falling to the floor. But it was as if the blows didn't even faze them.

The Psychobots were back on their feet in a matter of seconds, charging at Tommy once more. Running away, he looked back momentarily to see that they were hot on his trail. Almost as soon as he started running from them, he realized that there was nowhere to go but forwards and all that was in that direction was a wall.

"Shit," Tommy muttered, quickly approaching the wall. "Time to go for broke."

The moment he was close enough to the wall, he stuck his left leg out and actually ran up the stucco barrier in front of him. From the ground, the Psychobots looked up and watched as he pushed off the wall and flew over their heads in a back flip.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" he asked sarcastically right after he had landed.

"Show off!" Jason, who had seen the whole thing, shot back.

The Psychobots didn't seem to think it was sweet and didn't give Tommy any time to respond to Jason either. Ignoring Tommy's words, the soldiers simply looked at each other and then at their target, going after him for the third time.

Across the room, Jason was having problems of his own. He had knocked the Psychobots down countless times, but they just kept getting up and coming back for more. At the moment, four of the creatures were surrounding him in a position that was a little less awkward but equally difficult to the one that he had been in with Trini earlier.

He was backed up against the big red punching bag in the corner of the Youth Center with the Psychobots forming a circle around him and quickly closing the distance between them. With nowhere to go, he deflected a punch but caught a kick to the chest and collided with the punching bag, slumping to the floor.

Under normal circumstances, being laid out on the ground with four bloodthirsty robot thingies hovering over him would have been a very bad spot to be in. Fortunately, looking up at the ceiling and the chain holding the punching bag gave him an idea. Rolling onto his back, Jason did a kip-up onto his feet and grabbed the chain, pulling himself into the air in the process.

With one of the closer Psychobots acting as leverage, Jason used the soldiers' head to push off of, hitting another of the bots with the heavy punching bag and knocking it down in the process. Jerking hard to the left, he swung the bag around, hitting the remaining bots and sending them to the floor. He let go of the chain and landed on his feet as the four Psychobots pushed themselves off of the ground and prepared to mount another attack.

"God dammit. You guys don't know when to quit, do you?" Jason asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes as they moved towards him. "I shouldn't have even asked."

As the Psychobots charged, Jason went on the defensive, turning to run in the other direction as fast as he could. One of the small tables lining the main floor gave him another idea, an idea that wouldn't have worked if he hadn't been wearing the nylon pants.

Tucking his left leg back and sticking his right leg out, Jason dropped down and slid across the floor on his butt, ducking his head down to avoid colliding with the edge of the table. When he came out on the other side, he reached up and grabbed the underside of the table and used his momentum to pull himself, and the table, off the ground.

Flipping backwards through the air, Jason dropped the table right onto the Psychobots, pinning them underneath it. He knew it wouldn't stop them for long but it gave him enough time to catch his breath and come up with a better plan before they got free and attacked again.

On the top of the serving counter, Adam was staying in one spot while doing back handsprings to avoid the attacks of the Psychobots. After the ninth or tenth flip, he could feel the shift of his equilibrium and disorientation started to set in. When his hands touched the counter again, instead of using the leverage to push backwards into another flip, he pushed himself to the right and landed on the back counter. Looking down, he saw that he was standing in between a row of blenders on his left and to his right were…that gave him an idea.

"Ever play kick the can?" Adam asked with a sarcastic grin.

Using the side of his foot, he kicked a jumbo sized can of peaches into the air and sent it flying right at the bots. The container of fruit smacked one of the soldiers right in the center of the red oval, sparks flying from its' face. Turning the serving counter into a launch pad, Adam jumped to the counter and then platformed off of it, effortlessly throwing his legs into a midair version of the splits. His feet connected with their heads, sending multiple streams of sparks from their faces once more.

"Guys!" Adam called to Jason and Tommy, who paused briefly to look at him. "Aim for the middle of their faces!"

Nodding his head, Jason delivered a roundhouse kick to the face of one Psychobot and used the motion of his body weight to spin himself around in a circle, leg extended the whole time. In one swift movement, he had dropped and eliminated three of the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Tommy had gotten rid of one of the Psychobots and was luring his pair of them into the hallway, backpedaling towards the wall. He had a plan but it involved them attacking first. Lucky for him, they did.

The two Psychobots dove at him and he dropped into a somersault, rolling underneath the clothesline his attackers had formed with their arms. Hopping onto his feet, he turned back around and jumped into the air. Leaning backwards like he was laying down unsupported, he kicked his legs out and delivered simultaneous shots to the backs of the Psychobots.

They went crashing into the wall, and, when they finally turned back around, Tommy was more than ready for them. A high snap kick to the face immediately took care of one of the bots. He felt a grip on his shoulder and, spinning around, he ducked just in time to avoid a punch that would have broken his nose, and maybe more, if it had connected with his face.

He lowered his shoulder and drove the Psychobot into the wall, reaching up to grab it by the neck. Delivering punch after punch to the face of the creature, he didn't stop until sparks started to fly, singing some of the hair on his arms. Slapping his hands together, pretending to knock the imaginary dust off of them, Tommy looked down at his handiwork and smiled.

"It may be old school, but it still…"

"Tommy!" Adam interrupted from just outside the hallway, bending backwards to avoid a kick, ala Neo dodging bullets in _The Matrix_. "Don't ever try to steal my lines again!"

Almost each word was interrupted by a block, a punch, or a kick so it sounded more like "Don't… hmmph… ever… hiya… try to… oh shit… steal… kiya… my lines… oomph… again!" but it still got his point across. Tommy fell silent as Adam grabbed a blender off the back counter and used it to parry the attacks of the Psychobot he was engaged with.

He knocked a punch away with the blender and then, seemingly out of nowhere, he tossed the plastic pitcher high into the air. Just like he was hoping for, it distracted his opponent, and, as the gravity took over and the blender started to come down, Adam jumped into the air and scissor kicked it.

It was a direct shot to the Psychobot's face, executed perfectly in every meaning of the word. Pretending to smack the dust off of his hands, Adam looked down at his handiwork and smiled.

"It may be old school," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "but it still gets the job done."

The three men met back up in front of the main service counter a few seconds later, smiling as they exchanged high-fives and congratulations with each other. Completely winded, bent over with his hands on his knees, Jason started to scan the Youth Center. Ernie, and the Infernians as well, were nowhere in sight. It was just what the Infernians had wanted to happen.

Summoning the Psychobots had been a simple diversion from the Infernians to keep the Adam, Jason, and Tommy busy while they dealt with Ernie. Panic began to set in. They had come for Ernie and they had let him be taken away.

In nothing short of sheer and absolute luck, they heard the muffled sound of Ernie screaming in pain coming from the back room. Jerking their eyes towards the door, Tommy held a finger to his lips and withdrew his gun, silently instructing Adam and Jason to do the same.

Crouching as low to the ground as possible, they slowly crept towards the door, only stopping when Tommy froze and held his hand up. Carefully, he raised himself up just enough to where he could see through the bottom of the circular window on the door. Adam and Jason knew it was serious when Tommy didn't turn around to tell them anything. They also knew exactly what to do when he stuck three fingers into the air.

Three. Adam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Two. Jason cocked the chamber back on a gun he had never used before, not knowing what the result would be when he actually fired it. One. All three men stood straight up, preparing to go in after Ernie.

As Tommy's pointer finger dropped and his hand formed a tight fist, they pushed through the double doors, guns aimed right at the Infernians. Rule number one: hesitation leads to failure. Good thing none of them hesitated.

Jason fired three successive shots, each red blast of energy ripping holes in the body of the Infernian he had targeted. Unfortunately, Tommy and Adam weren't so lucky. Their shots missed wide and they had to dive behind boxes on either side of the room to avoid their target's return fire.

Then Tommy cringed as he heard a sound that he never wanted to hear again: a slurping noise that he knew was coming from the forearm of the remaining Infernian. Jason fired another round of shots which the Infernian dodged as its' spike shot right at Jason. The spike stopped less than an inch from his neck as the body of a headless Infernian fell to the floor, smoke pouring from its neck.

Not even bothering to see if it was Tommy or Adam who fired the shot, Jason rushed over to the chair that Ernie was still tied and taped to. His head was hanging limply to the left, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, and cuts and bruises on every visible part of his body. Ernie looked like he had been through hell and back more than once.

"You two stop standing there!" Jason yelled, his fingers fumbling with the knots in the rope. "Get over here and help me get him untied!"

Briefly looking at each other, Tommy and Adam nodded their heads and made a mad dash for Jason and Ernie. As Tommy and Adam struggled to rip through a good nine or ten layers of duct tape, Jason was having less luck with the rope. His hands were shaking in genuine fear of the fate of their friend. Noticing this, Tommy gave Adam a pat on the back and told him to keep at it as he swung around the chair to help Jason.

"You need some help, bro?" Tommy asked.

Beads of sweat were pouring down Jason's face and, for the first time in as long as Tommy had known him, he looked ready to throw in the towel. His head just wasn't in it. But something about having his best friend there to help him seemed to calm his nerves… at least a little bit.

"Yeah. Thanks, man," Jason breathed.

Tommy nodded his head and the pair went to work on untying the plethora of knots that were binding Ernie to the chair. It took them almost five minutes to get all the knots undone and, when they had finally finished, Adam was tearing through the last two layers of the thick silver tape. With nothing to hold him in the chair any longer, Ernie's body started to fall.

Together, Adam, Jason, and Tommy all dove to support him, none of them wanting to see his body smack against the cold, hard, linoleum floor. Slowly and carefully, they lowered him to the ground. His instincts as a paramedic took over and Jason moved to the top of Ernie, resting his ear against his chest. Adam and Tommy, relegated to watch Jason in action, thanked their lucky stars that Jason was a paramedic.

Pressing his ear hard against Ernie's chest, Jason listened intently for any sign of life. Raising his eyes, he looked up at Adam and Tommy and nodded his head. Their eyes fell to the floor in humble mourning at what they thought was the loss of a great friend.

"It's barely there but he has a heartbeat," Jason muttered, sighs of relief escaping Adam and Tommy. "Help me get him up, guys. We need to get him to a hospital right away."

Ernie was no lightweight. It took the full combined strength of Tommy and Jason, plus a little support from Adam to get him off the ground. As Tommy and Jason started to carry him towards the door, Adam called out for them to stop.

"We don't have cars to get him to the hospital, guys," Adam told them, dejected and depressed looks coming onto their faces. Holding up his arm, however, he revealed another plan. "But we do have these. We can teleport and take him back to Billy."

"Man, why didn't I think of that. There's gotta be a medical wing somewhere in that place. Good thinking, Adam," Tommy replied, flashing him a brief smile before looking over at Jason. "Let's stand him up, bro. Adam, put one of his arms around each of our shoulders."

Adam did as requested and moved to stand behind Jason and Tommy. Once they had Ernie on his feet, he carefully placed one of his arms around each of them and then took his place on Jason's left. Pressing the middle button on the left side of their wristbands once and then holding it in, Jason turned his head and spit on the face of the Infernian he had shot. Less than a second later, they were gone.

If they had only stuck around for just a few seconds longer, they would have seen the gaping holes in the Infernian's chest begin to close and the head of his partner slowly start to reform.

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_Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_1:47 p.m._

Adam, Jason, and Tommy had been gone a long time; a little too long for Trini, Kimberly, and the others. Kimberly had been pacing back and forth for almost fifteen minutes, not bothering to listen when Rocky or Zack tried to calm her down. Trini was just as bad, if not worse.

She and Jason had been so close. She could see it in his eyes when he was on top of her that he wanted to kiss her. On the exterior, she played it off like it wasn't a big deal by laughing at Rocky and Adam's jokes but, on the inside, she wanted nothing more than for him to have done it.

Instead of listening to the others, the first two female Power Rangers took comfort with each other. Occasionally, Kimberly would stop pacing to sit with Trini for a moment, they'd offer the other some comforting words and then Kimberly would go right back to her pacing, leaving Trini alone to sit on the steps.

Simply put, they were nervous wrecks. They knew that Billy had sent a good group of Rangers, maybe even the best, to go after Ernie. Adam, Jason, and Tommy were arguably three of the strongest Rangers in history with even less of an argument when looking only at Zordon's Rangers, but that didn't make it any easier to stomach.

On the side of the room opposite from Trini, there was a set of matching steps, both steps leading to nothing more than an elevated area to overlook the whole Ranger Room. With her nerves kicking into overdrive, the steps started to look rather inviting to Kimberly. Wearing a sad look on her face, she walked over to them and sat down, elbow on her knee and resting the side of her face against her hand.

Inside Zack's Escalade, he and Rocky were blaring Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre," the bass shaking the doors on the SUV. Rocky was doing his best to rap, playing the Eminem to Zack's Dr. Dre. He just wasn't having much luck. He stumbled over a couple of lines and Zack found it necessary to call him out on it, pointing and laughing at his inability to keep a beat.

"Dude, you suck," Zack laughed. "Never try to rap again."

Blushing slightly, Rocky turned to the right, catching an image in the passenger side mirror as he looked out the window. It had been a barely visible blur of pink and, when he looked again, he saw Kimberly sitting on the steps looking quite upset.

"Kim looks sad," he muttered.

"Hmm?" Zack asked in reply, turning down the radio as he shifted his head to look at Rocky.

"Kim. She looks sad," Rocky answered, pointing in her direction. Looking in the rearview mirror, Zack saw what he was talking about and nodded.

"Yeah, she does," Zack continued, turning off the car battery. "Come on. Let's go cheer her up."

Less than a minute later, Kimberly looked up to see Rocky and Zack walking towards her. She tried not to smile but she couldn't help it when they sat down on either side of her, mimicking her sad expression perfectly.

"Sorry," she said quietly, not making eye contact with either of them. "I'm kind of a party pooper, aren't I?"

"Just a little bit," Rocky winked, grinning down at her. She didn't grin back. "Oh, come on, Kim. Lighten up. I bet you they'll be back in no time."

"Yeah," Zack added. "It wouldn't surprise me if they teleported in right now."

Insert "Kira Falling Out of the Sky: Part Two," here. By the time Zack had said the word "now," three beams of white, red, and black energy appeared twenty or so feet in front of them, Tommy, Adam, and Jason struggling to keep the battered and bruised Ernie on his feet.

"Oh my God," Kim muttered, covering her mouth with her hands.

She couldn't look at Ernie all beat up like that and she had to turn away while Zack and Rocky rushed to help them with him. From all corners of the room, Billy, Justin, Aisha, Tanya and Trini all came running over a few seconds later to join them. Immediately, the four males who hadn't gone on the rescue mission jumped in and alleviated them from the duty of holding Ernie upright.

"Aisha, see that door over there?" Billy grunted, using his head to point towards a door near where their cars were. She saw the door and looked back at Billy, nodding her head. "Good. That door leads down to the medical wing. Go down the hall and into the third door on your right. You'll find a bunch of stretchers. I need you to bring one to me."

Aisha nodded one more time and ran off towards the door. Everyone seemed ready to help, except Kimberly, who still hadn't joined them, and Adam, Jason, and Tommy, who were laid out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and oblivious to everything going on around them. Oh, the things the three of them would have killed at that moment for a deep tissue massage and a Jacuzzi.

Every muscle in their bodies ached. Tommy hadn't fought seriously like that since he had been the Black Dino Ranger. For Jason, it had been the Red Ranger mission. Adam had returned earlier in the year with Kira Ford, Tori Hanson, Xander Bly and Bridge Carson to help the Overdrive Rangers, but he was just as sore as Jason and Tommy.

Apparently "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger," became a credo that progressively grew harder and harder to follow the closer a Ranger got to thirty. Tommy wanted nothing more than to put back on his slacks and tie and go back to teaching high school science to kids that didn't care about a thing he had to say.

"It never ends, does it?" he asked to no one in particular. "You think you're finally done with this life and then it just sucks you right back in when you least expect it."

"It does, doesn't it?" Jason asked in reply, grabbing his leg and rubbing it to ward off the cramp he could already feel coming. "Man, I have not been this sore in a _long_ time, bro."

"Tell me about it," Adam interjected, running his fingers along one of the many new bruises that had formed on his arm. "At least with the Overdrive team we had powers to use. I just want to get in bed and sleep for three days straight after that."

Sighing, the three tired men closed their eyes and lay back down on the cold floor. Their eyes didn't even flutter when, every half a minute or so, one of the Rangers would come by to ask if they were okay. Instead, they would just nod their heads while trying to enjoy the relative peace they had been granted while waiting for Aisha to return with the stretcher.

They didn't like leaving Ernie after having just saved him from the Infernians, and each of them felt more than a little guilty about doing so. However, they took some comfort in knowing that he was in the hands of very capable people. Those capable people had lifted Ernie onto a table that he was currently laid out on.

Though neither Justin nor Tanya had really gotten much of a chance to know Ernie as well as the other Rangers, they could tell by the looks on their faces that he was someone that they all truly and deeply cared about. He wasn't just some random guy they knew that served them smoothes and let them use the Youth Center facilities, never even_thinking _about charging them for using it. No, he was much more than that. There simply weren't enough kind, loving, and endearing words existing in the English language that could do the man justice.

Trini and Zack were both standing over his unconscious body with tears in their eyes. Billy and Rocky weren't crying yet, but they were definitely getting close to tears. Ernie had been such an integral part of all of their lives; always there to help them or offer some advice when they needed it most. They didn't care if bringing him to their base exposed their identities as Rangers, they just wanted him to be okay. His health and safety was all that mattered at that point.

Three minutes later, everyone in the room who wasn't on the floor with closed eyes, including Kimberly, turned to look as Aisha came running towards them pushing a stretcher. It took nothing more than Kimberly pinching the three of them to get them off the ground and on their feet to help. Grumbling something about never getting a break, Jason started to walk towards Ernie and the stretcher with Adam, Tommy, and Kimberly following behind him.

"Alright, guys. Let's make this as easy as possible," Billy muttered, positioning his hands under Ernie and instructing the others, sans Kim and Aisha, who were really too small to help lift him, to do the same. "Okay, everyone lift on the count of three. One, two, three!"

Effortlessly, nine former Power Rangers lifted Ernie off of the table and carefully laid his body on the stretcher. Trini took extra care to make sure that he at least _looked_ comfortable even if his body was covered in cuts and bruises.

"I'm going to take him to the medical wing now," Billy continued, looking around at all of them. "You guys wait here. I'll be back as soon as I know something, okay?"

Ten heads nodded in unison at him. Billy returned the gesture and grabbed the bar on the stretcher, pushing it towards where Aisha had just come from. Slowly falling back, the male Rangers started to flock towards their female companions.

Tommy put his arm around Kimberly, who sighed and allowed herself to be pulled in closer to him. Holding Trini's hand, Jason felt her grip tighten and he offered her his best comforting smile. Zack had Tanya in a half-hug and Aisha was crying against the chest of Rocky, who was holding her closely. Adam and Justin, neither of whom had a female Ranger to go to, stood side-by-side in silence, watching as Billy and Ernie disappeared through the door and out of sight.

With an expression of absolute fear mixed with a little bit of shock, Kimberly looked up at Tommy and tried to give him a smile, just something to let him know that they were in this together, in it for the long haul. The long haul? That made Kimberly stop and think about what exactly that phrase really meant.

She knew exactly how she felt about Tommy. The feelings going through her body were the same ones she had felt right before he, at her urging, left her in Florida to prepare for the Red Ranger mission. But somehow, for whatever reason, fate had put them back in each others' lives.

A soft kiss placed on her forehead courtesy of her White Knight let her know that he was operating on the same wavelength, or at least a similar one. She had already let him get away twice and now that she had Tommy back in her life for a third time, there was no way in hell that she was going to ever let him get away again.

Sighing deeply, she rested her head softly against his shoulder. She knew that they had a lot to talk about and she had every intention of doing that as soon as possible. Unfortunately for her, that conversation was one that would have to be put on hold temporarily.

Some things really do never change, for at that very moment, at a time when they were at relative peace, the alarm started to wail again. Ten sets of eyes rolled in unison as Tommy let go of Kimberly's hand.

"Justin! Trini!" Tommy shouted in his all too familiar leader voice, only yelling because he had to compete with the alarm as he pointed at the two whose names he had just called out. "You're both good with computers! Get on Billy's computer over there and see if you can figure out what's going on! Kim, come with me to get Billy!"

Both Justin and Trini nodded their heads and took off towards the computer station on the other side of the room, a few of the other Rangers following them to see if they could help. Even though none of them were nearly as proficient in electronics as the former Blue Turbo and Yellow Morphin' Rangers, they all wanted to be involved even if they couldn't help directly.

As Tommy and Kimberly sprinted towards the doors to the medical wing, hand-in-hand, Jason tried to contain the smile that was quickly forming on his face. Though the world was in danger, seeing them together again, without a hint of tension between the pair, was comforting. Once they had gone through the double doors and were out of sight, he nodded towards the area where they had just been and then turned to join the others, watching Justin and Trini trying frantically to disable the alarm.

_1:59:57...1:59:58...1:59:59..._

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_Man, these chapters are taking forever to get out. I'm sorry that it's taking so long for updates but each chapter is so long and so detailed that, by the time I finish one, I feel like I need a three week vacation. LOL. Hope you liked it, and keep those reviews coming. Every review I get encourages me more and more. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up for DAMTBF sometime by the end of the weekend. With that being said, I'm thinking about changing the title for it._Don't Ask Me To Be Friends_worked well when it was just a oneshot but now that it has turned into a full blown story, I feel like it needs a more fitting title. Anyway, don't forget to review. Talk to you all soon._

_WK_

_P.S. I made quite a few references to both the TV show and the movie in this chapter. The person who catches the most references and PM's me with them will get a little sneak peak at the next installment. I'm out._


	7. 2:00 pm

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Events occur in real time._

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_Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:00 p.m._

Justin and Trini were now hard at work on getting the alarm system disabled, both of them exchanging theories and suggestions to each other while the rest of the group simply stood behind them and watched them at work.

They were all trying so hard, searching within themselves to have some semblance of patience when, the truth of the matter, was simply that they had none; not an ounce of it existed between the six of them standing there, relegated to waiting for Justin and Trini to do something about the alarm and none more so than Jason.

He looked like a ticking time bomb; thumbs twiddling, breathing deeply and much too dramatically to be normal, occasionally pacing around the room, visibly ready to burst from the seams at any given moment. His mind was solely focused on one thing and one thing only, and it wasn't the alarm sounding or the danger that was presented when it started to blare. It was on Ernie.

Years of dealing with death and destruction on a daily basis, both as a Power Ranger and as a paramedic, did nothing in preparing him for seeing his old friend so battered, bruised and bloodied in the Youth Center earlier. In a place where violence and fighting of any sorts, outside of the occasional karate tournament, was a rarity to see, so much of it had occurred there on this day.

The Youth Center, in Jason's eyes, was supposed to be something of a safe haven for all people. Instead it had been turned upside down, practically gutted and all but destroyed from all of the fighting that had occurred on the inside.

He had watched one of his oldest friends get carted away on the verge of death and now was being forced to wait until they knew who it was that was in danger now. At a time when patience would have been a much welcomed virtue, he had none.

The wailing of the alarm was nothing but very soft and distant background music, barely audible in comparison to the scenes from earlier playing back in the depths of Jason's memory banks. It was all there: fighting the Psychobots, shooting at the Infernians, almost being impaled, vivid and horrifying depictions of Ernie laid out and barely breathing, all existing for him to continuously relive.

"Trini!" Zack yelled over the sirens, momentarily bringing Jason back to the present. "You guys having any luck!?"

She gave no verbal reply, only shook her head and continued to type away at the keyboard while exchanging ideas with her younger, newer, scientific counterpart in blue. Indeed, Justin did give Billy a run for his money in the intelligence department and it was times like these where he was grateful for the year he spent in the Power Chamber under the tutelage of Alpha Six and Dimitria.

While he watched Trini's hands fly across the keyboard, he thought long and hard about who, and where, they were. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when, five minutes into trying and failing to disable the alarm, something finally clicked in his head.

"Control-F," Justin muttered. Trini looked up at Justin with a confused look. He replied to it with a smile and reiterated his instructions. Trini did so and it brought up a search bar. "Now type in the phrase 'alarm override' and see if that brings anything up. I think we should get something from that."

Trini nodded and did as Justin suggested, typing the words into the search bar and hitting the Enter key. Instantly, the computer went into something resembling MS-DOS, a black screen with white writing, but instead of the various words, symbols and commands usually associated with DOS, it was all binary code; nothing but "zeros" and "ones."

"Do you know binary, Justin?" Trini asked, staring at the numbers running across the screen.

"A little bit. Not much though," Justin answered, shrugging his shoulders. Trini looked disappointed. "Hey, I may not know it all that well but that doesn't mean I can't still give it a try, right?"

"That's all we can ask," Trini replied, smiling at him as she gave him a friendly pat on the back.

She stood up from the chair and took a couple steps back and off to the side to allow Justin complete access to the computer terminal. Sliding into the chair, he cracked his neck and knuckles and then brought his hands to the keyboard as he started getting to work on the alarm.

His eyes flew back and forth across the screen rapidly as he tried to process all of the "ones" and "zeros" that he was seeing. In a few brief moments of reading the code and translating it as much as possible, he was able to come up with a few theories on how to stop the alarm but nothing solid yet.

Standing behind them, Rocky was apparently just as antsy as his fellow brother in red. Every few seconds he'd pace around, take a couple of overly deep breaths and run his hand through his hair while stringing phrases and curse words together that, in no way, shape, or form, resembled anything even remotely coherent.

"Bitches. Stupid alarm. Goddamn computers. Waste of time. Complete bullshit. I had classes to teach today. There's a reason you didn't go on the Red Ranger mission, pal. Justin got really tall. I could have been somebody…I could have been a contender! What in the hell is binary code? Tommy and Kim…that's pretty random," he muttered, loudly, to the bewilderment of the others who all turned to look at him as if he had grown a second head. When he realized that he had been talking to himself, he blushed a little bit. "Sorry, guys. Uncle Rocky's a little nutso today."

_Dammit, Rocky. I thought we agreed that we were going to keep those thoughts**inside** your head from now on. Now look at what you've done. They all think you're a complete wacko now. Good job, pal. Way to show 'em, chief. Nice going, slick. Smooth move, ex-lax. Shut up!_

He pointed to his head and looped his hand in a circle, demonstrating the craziness going on inside of his head. Adam gave him a half-smile and rolled his eyes while Tanya tried not to laugh. Aisha, on the other hand looked with at him with concern for the man with whom she had danced around the idea of having a relationship with for years. Stepping up from behind him, Zack and Jason both placed understanding hands on his shoulders.

"I know what you mean, Rocko," Jason said quietly. "I don't like playing this game any more than you do, bro, but we just have to try and keep it together."

"Yeah, man. What he said," Zack added, jerking his head in Jason's direction and giving Rocky's shoulder a tight squeeze. "We're all in the same boat, Rock."

"I know. I just hate waiting," Rocky muttered. Jason and Zack nodded in understanding as his thoughts began to drift. "I wonder what's taking Tommy and Kim so long."

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_NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:09 p.m._

Tommy and Kim came running around the corner, skidding to a halt in the middle of a hall that felt eerily like they had already been there before. With sweat dripping down his forehead, Tommy took an exasperated breath.

"Dammit, all," Tommy panted, bent over with his hands on his knees. He slapped his open palm against the wall, looked over at Kim and shook his head slowly from side-to-side. "We've been looking for almost ten minutes. Weren't we just here a few minutes ago?"

"No idea, Tiger," Kim breathed, stretching high to give the incoming oxygen had easier access as she looked around the hallway, "It all seems the same to me. It looks like it's all nothing but a bunch of doors and walls."

"Yeah, I know," Tommy replied, running his hand through his hair. "You'd think they'd at least be smart enough to put some kind of marking on the walls or something."

"Billy's always been a bit secretive about stuff like this," Kim muttered.

Tommy nodded as Kim reached up and used the sleeve of her shirt to dab at the beginnings of sweat on her forehead. The material around her arm rolled up just enough to reveal a few of her fading scars and Tommy winced when he saw them.

"Kim," he whispered hoarsely. Slowly, he reached out and took hold of her arm, gently running his hands along the old wounds. Feeling the onset of tears, she flinched a bit but didn't try to pull away from his grip. "I am so sorry, Beautiful. I should have been there. I should have stopped…"

"No! Stop it! You had nothing to do with this!" Kim commanded, yanking her arm away as she pointed at the scars. Tommy gave her a pained look and her voice softened. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't put me in a position to get hurt, I did."

A single tear fell from her eye and started to slip down her cheek. Tommy immediately reached out and gently wiped it away from her face. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his forehead against her own.

"I won't let them hurt you, Kim," Tommy told her, holding her tightly in his arms. "Never again. I can promise you that much."

"Tell me that you'll love me forever. Tell me that you'll always stand by my side and that you'll fight for us again," Kim replied, looking up at him with sad eyes. "But please, _please_ don't make me promises that we both know you can't keep. I can't deal with anymore broken promises, Tommy."

"Wha-" Tommy started, looking quite confused, but Kim held up a hand to silence him before he could continue speaking.

"We're not kids anymore, Tiger. We can't live in this fantasy world where nothing bad will ever happen to us as long as we have each other like we did when we were kids," Kim continued. It was obvious that her own experiences had hardened her approach to life and the world. Still, that didn't stop Tommy from being hurt by her words. "I'm not trying to be a cynical bitch here, I'm just being realistic. The world isn't all peaches and cream. Accidents happen on a daily basis, especially in our lives, that are out of everyone's control. Even yours, oh great one."

She finished her monologue on realism with a smirk and Tommy's tight grip on her relaxed a little bit. Sighing deeply, he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple and let her go completely except for a lingering hold that he maintained on her hands. It was both a physical and metaphorical gesture for he was not only letting her go in the physical sense of dropping his hold but in understanding and acceptance of her words as well.

He didn't like hearing her words about him not being able to protect her, though. For as long as he could remember he had been the one to look after her.

_He_ was the one that stood by her side through more Ranger battles than anyone else that served on the team not named Billy. _He _was the one who had told her to go to Florida to chase her dreams of gymnastics glory. _He_ was the one that she had turned to after her boyfriend had attacked her. _He_ was the one that she had sought refuge with when she had arrived in Angel Grove that morning and yet, from what he had gathered, she was telling him that she didn't want him to try and be that man anymore.

It was definitely a tough pill to swallow for the man who knew he didn't_need_ to protect her but had always so desperately _wanted_ to. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed her hands again, pulling her in close to him.

"I will always stand by your side, Kim. And I'll fight for us again if I have to, even though I don't want to hear the words 'us' and 'fighting' in the same sentence ever again," Tommy promised, looking at her seriously. "And I will always, _always_,love you. Nothing, and I mean _nothing,_ can ever hope to change that."

"Good," Kim replied, letting go of one of Tommy's hands but interlocking fingers with the other. On tiptoes, she placed a soft kiss against the side of his face. "Now let's go and find our little friendly neighborhood science whiz."

Tommy nodded his head and allowed Kim to pull him away, hopefully in a direction that actually took them to the medical wing this time. They ran through the white halls for a few more minutes until they turned a corner and came face to face with a glass window. Kim put her hand to her mouth as she looked through it.

Ernie was laying on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask on his face, numerous tubes and IV's running all over, and into, his body. Every few seconds his chest would slowly expand and then contract just as slowly. Standing off to the side was Billy, engaged in a conversation with a man in a white coat, presumably a doctor of some sort.

To the right of the window, was a door. Tommy moved to open it but, unable to turn the handle, found that it was locked. He knocked lightly at first but after no one came, he started pounding on it. Still nothing.

"Is he even looking over here?" Tommy asked, beating his fist against the door. Kim looked through the window then back at Tommy and shook her head. "Dammit! What do we do?"

"What's that thing?" Kim asked, pointing to the black panel next to the door.

"I don't know. Let's find out," Tommy answered, pushing the only button on it. The cover on the panel slid off revealing only a tiny mirror that was just a bit bigger than a human eye. "I think it's a retinal scan."

"Well, let's find out," Kim replied.

Bumping him out of the way, she got her eye as close to the mirror as possible. Instantly, she was flashed with a bright light that made her see more than a few stars.

"Oww! Dammit!" she yelled, grabbing her eye. Tommy immediately moved to her side to check on her but before he could say anything, the automated female voice returned.

_Retinal scan is complete. Scanner verified for Ms. Kimberly Ann Hart. Please step through the doors now._

"It actually knows who I am?" Kimberly asked incredulously as the door clicked and unlocked. "How-how did Billy do something like that?"

"I don't know, Kim," Tommy replied, pulling the door open. "Let's go."

Kim nodded and they stepped through the doorway only to find themselves not in the medical wing with Billy and Ernie but in another place altogether. It was then that they realized why Billy hadn't answered the door when they knocked. They were standing in a different room than the one they had been in before. The walls were heavily padded in a deep shade of crimson making it pretty much impossible for anyone inside to hear a knock at the door.

"This is ridiculous," Kim muttered. "I swear to God, it's like one of those freaking mystery houses in this damn place."

"I know," Tommy replied. "But there's another panel over there."

He pointed to the panel mounted on the far wall, the only thing in the room outside of himself and Kimberly that wasn't red. Though there was no visible door there to open, he approached the panel and pushed in the lone button on it anyway.

This time when it opened up, a square piece of black metal slid out of the bottom with the outline of a thumb on it formed in tiny, blinking, red lights. Tommy rolled his eyes but still put his thumb on the inside of the outline as the panel started to make a humming sound.

A few seconds later, the flashing red lights of the thumb outline turned green and the machine started to beep at him. He took that as an all clear to remove his thumb and did so before moving to stand next to Kimberly.

_Fingerprint scan is complete. Scanner verified for Dr. Thomas James Oliver. Please step through the doors now._

"What doors?" Kim asked rhetorically. She was answered with the whooshing sound of released pressure as the whole wall split in half, revealing the entrance to the medical wing. Billy turned to look at them as they entered the room. "Billy. Retinal scans? Finger prints? That's a little over the top, don't you think?"

"No. I don't think it's over the top. I think it's necessary otherwise I wouldn't have done it," he told her seriously, leaving both Tommy and Kim taken aback a bit. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "Dr. Walters would you excuse us for a few minutes, please?" The doctor nodded his head and Billy waited until he had left the room before continuing. "I'm sorry, guys. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I'm just really worried about Ernie. What can I do for the two of you?"

"The alarm went off in the Ranger Room and since _we_ don't know anything about what's going on here and _you_ weren't there,_we_ came to get you," Kim answered, not yet in full acceptance of his apology. "Justin and Trini were trying to get the alarm to stop before we left."

"What? No, no way. That's not possible. My Blackberry would have gone off if the alarm had been activated," Billy replied, reaching into his pants pocket only to come up empty handed. He stuck his hand into his other pocket and got the same result. "Oh, my God. My Blackberry… it's gone."

Billy fell to his knees, shaking as he stared down at the floor in absolute disbelief. He had to reach over, grab the trash can and stuff his head inside the black plastic liner to prevent himself from vomiting on the floor. Tommy and Kim were by his side immediately.

"Billy? Billy what's wrong?" Kim asked, gently rubbing the small of his back in soft circles. "What's the big deal? It's just a stupid phone. You can always get another one."

"No. It's not…just a phone…Kim," Billy managed in between the violent heaves into the trash can. Tommy had to turn away at the sight and smell of Billy vomiting. "My Blackberry…has… everything on it. Activation codes…for weapons…defense strategies, blueprints… schematics… mission outlines, _everything_! If that falls into the wrong hands…we're all…done for."

"Holy shit," Tommy whispered. "We're fucked."

"Shut up, Tommy," Kim replied, shooting him a glare. She jerked her head down at Billy, telling Tommy that their friend was already feeling guilty enough without his added comments. "We're not _fucked_ as Tommy so eloquently put it. I'm sure everything is fine. You probably just left it on your desk or something."

"Uh, yeah. Kim's right. Everything's probably fine," Tommy added, going deep into his head while fishing for something semi-comforting to say. "Maybe it's, uh, in the Ranger Room or something. Who knows?"

"Maybe, but I seriously doubt it," Billy muttered, using his sleeve to wipe at his chin as he got up from the floor. Once he was on his feet, he pushed the waste bin aside and turned to face Tommy and Kimberly. "We'll worry about my phone later, though. Right now we need to see what caused the alarm to go off so let's go do that."

"After you, sir," Tommy bowed, smiling as he stepped back, allowing Billy to take the lead position.

Following him out the door, Kim paused and turned back to look at Ernie but only for a moment. Tommy's heart went out to her and he gave her hand a tight squeeze as he gently continued to pull her along with him.

"How is he doing, Billy?" Kim asked as they stepped into the hallway. "He's not going to die or anything, is he?

Billy opened his mouth to reply but paused for a moment, pondering whether or not to give them the truth or sugarcoat it to spare their feelings and emotions.

"At this point, Dr. Walters thinks that it's still too early to really tell. There was a lot of internal bleeding and bruising, quite a few broken bones and he had a small heart attack right before you got here," Billy answered honestly, sparing them no detail in regards to Ernie's health. "Right now he's stable but he's somewhat touch-and-go. Dr. Walters says he's got about a 50-50 chance of making it."

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Room H17, Floor 3, NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:27 p.m._

In a secluded room, a mustached man with jet black hair and glasses sat behind a Maplewood desk in a solid black suit, his feet resting on top of the glossy wooden surface as he puffed on a cigar. In one hand was a standard cell phone placed against his ear. In the other, he was holding a blue PDA.

While the phone rang, he set the PDA down and typed away at the keyboard in front of him, laughing at the Wikipedia article that defined the Power Rangers as "selfless heroes." Rolling his eyes, he tapped his feet against each other impatiently, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. After the sixth ring, someone finally did.

"_Hello_," a female answered in a heavily British accent.

"I have it," he replied.

"_Good. Upload me the information now_."

"You got the money?"

"_You'll have your money when I have the information._"

"Fine. You better not be screwing with me."

"_Mr. Mitchell, I assure you there will be no screwing between us._"

"That's a shame. You don't know what you're missing."

He laughed at the double entendre and then plugged the PDA into the side of his laptop computer. It took a few moments for the system to recognize the hardware but eventually a screen popped up, asking him to input a password.

Using an old NASA override code, he bypassed the password protection and found a whole list of files now at his disposal. A few simple clicks later and file after file began transferring to someone who would make great use of them, just not for anything good.

"I sent them. Now send me my money."

"_If everything is to our liking the money will be in your bank account in less than one hour. Until then, cheers._"

He heard the line click as the phone went dead and he tossed it onto his desk. After unplugging the PDA from his laptop, he pocketed it and then made his way out of the office, stepping into the hallway that would lead him down three floors and right to the office door of Assistant Director Cranston.

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Angel Grove Youth Center, Gym & Juice Bar, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:32 p.m._

The Youth Center was now merely a shell of what it had once been just a little more than an hour earlier. A front window, shattered and stained black with dried blood, stood to those on the outside of the building as the only testament of the destruction that had occurred on the inside of the usually peaceful establishment. The inside of the building, however, told a very different story.

Tables were flipped on their sides, chairs scattered across all areas of the floor, and at least three video games had been destroyed. Not only that but a good portion of Ernie's equipment, stuff like blenders, milkshake machines, speed bags, weight benches and punching bags, were in pieces. Some of this had been the work of the Infernians, some had been Tommy, Adam and Jason's doing.

Yet, all of these physical damages were far beyond important in the much larger scheme of things; three policemen were dead and, as far as the people on the outside of the Youth Center knew, Ernie had met the same fate as well.

Easily two dozen vans and trucks coming from television and radio stations all over Southern California were parked in front of the Youth Center. Their respective reporters and crew members all stood around the building, waiting impatiently for someone to give them some kind of news. Whether it was good or bad news was inconsequential to them so long as they had something interesting to report on when it was over.

Police cars lined the street and a small fleet of Angel Grove's finest had formed a barrier in front of the entrance, preventing any of the reporters from getting closer than fifty or so feet to the door. Two ambulances, one already containing the body of one of the deceased police officers, were backed up in front of the entrance, waiting to be loaded with the remaining two bodies.

In their haste to save Ernie along with the fact that they simply didn't know about it at the time, neither Tommy, Adam or Jason had found the bodies of the other two policemen that the Infernians had dispatched. The medics in the Youth Center were there to, hopefully, retrieve those bodies, not knowing what kind of condition they were actually in.

Only one of the bodies had actually been seen after having been thrown through the window, landing on the lawn for everyone to see. The only reason the people outside knew about the other two was because of the one who had been ejected from the building via the destroyed front window. Right before dying, Officer Michael Talbot, husband and father of three little girls, had used his last breaths to apologize for not saving his fellow officers.

The front doors swung wide open and two pairs of paramedics walking single file came through them. Both pairs of medics were handling a stretcher, each stretcher holding the sheet-covered bodies of the remaining two police officers. Following slowly behind them, mournful eyes trained towards the ground, was Chief of Police Jerome Stone.

The reporters were like bloodhounds the moment that he stepped foot outside of the Youth Center doors, trying to rush past the police barricade to get to him. Twenty-five members of Angel Grove Police Department stood firm, making that task a near impossible one to accomplish.

At the sound of sirens, the reporters and cameramen turned to watch the ambulances pull away, granting both Chief Stone and the wall of officers a momentary reprieve. Once those vehicles were out of sight though, it was back to the harassment. At Stone's instruction, the police barrier began to move towards the street, pushing the reporters back so he could get to his car.

"These guys are bloodthirsty," Stone muttered to no one in particular. As he reached his car, he started to climb in, only to stop and face the various media personnel for a moment. "There will be a press conference outside of the police station at 3:55 this afternoon. You savages can come and get your news then."

With that, he disappeared into the passenger seat of a black Lincoln Navigator, emblazoned on both sides with the Angel Grove Police Department logo. The officer behind the wheel turned the engine over as Chief Stone looked out the passenger side window with wide eyes.

Behind the door, in the confines of the SUV, the pursuit of information from him was still very much a relentless one. The reporters and cameramen had the car surrounded on all sides, all of them refusing to budge.

Angrily, he reached over and honked the horn multiple times but to no avail. They weren't budging. Even when he flipped on the sirens and turned on the lights they stayed firmly planted in the street and on the sidewalk around the car.

It took the combined forces of all the officers, some of them having to literally pick up people and carry them out of the way so that the SUV could actually have a clear path to pull away from the Youth Center.

"Some asshole in the media is gonna have a field day with that one. Lovely," Stone grumbled sarcastically. "I can't wait for this press conference."

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_Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:38 p.m._

Billy was at the helms of the computer now, and had been for the last four, almost five, minutes actually. In the time that it had taken Tommy and Kimberly to find him, Justin had managed to disable the alarm but they hadn't had a lick of luck in finding out what it was that had caused it to go off earlier.

For as intelligent as Justin was, he relied as much on street smarts as he did his brain. Billy, on the other hand, was mostly scientific, thus more eccentric. He did things that the average person didn't do, like password protecting the alarm system six separate times, each with one of the six different Ninjetti animals. That one had taken Justin almost ten minutes to figure out.

Then there had been the fake self-destruct message with a ten second countdown that came up once they had gotten the alarm disabled. The group of ex-Rangers had gone running in every direction thinking it was going to blow up only to hear a recording of Billy laughing at them when the clock hit zero.

"How's it coming, Billy?" Justin asked, standing over his shoulder.

"Not that good. Nothing seems to be happening in Angel Grove or the surrounding area," Billy answered, keeping his focus on the screen. "I'm trying to widen the search parameters for all of California but I'm still not getting anything quite yet."

"Just keep at it, Billy," Adam interjected, patting him on the shoulder. "You'll get something here eventually."

Billy just nodded his head and continued typing, expanding his search from Angel Grove out towards the northwest. The red circles began rotating across the screen as they centered in on the Bay Area. His heart started to beat rapidly the moment the circles disappeared only to be replaced by a single red star right over San Francisco.

Grabbing the mouse, he brought it to the blinking star over the city's name and left clicked once, bringing up an aerial satellite image of the whole city on a secondary monitor. He clicked again and it zoomed in closer, specifically to the Market Street area. Another click and they were looking at the street in front of a very tall building, a hotel.

Two brown haired men in navy blue suits were slowly, but with definite purpose, approaching the hotel's entrance. Tommy, Adam, Jason and Billy immediately recognized them from the way they dragged their feet when they walked as Infernians.

"Katherine," Billy breathed.

"What!?" Tommy, along with Adam, Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Tanya, Justin, Trini, Aisha and Rocky all yelled in unison.

Billy cursed himself for his slipup. He had told them Katherine was on a plane to Angel Grove en route from New York City. They weren't supposed to know about what Katherine had really been doing. At least not yet, they weren't.

But, instead of manning up, facing his friends, and offering them the truth, he kept his eyes trained on the monitors, clicking and typing away like he hadn't even said Katherine's name just fifteen seconds earlier. It took both Tommy and Jason physically yanking his chair away from the desk and spinning it around to get him to actually look at them.

"Speak," Tommy ordered, looking down on Billy, his arms folded firmly across his chest.

"Now!" Jason sternly growled, mimicking his best friend's 'no nonsense' pose.

For the second time that day, Billy looked to the others for some reprieve but, like before, they gave him none. They wanted answers from him too. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.

"Katherine's in San Francisco. Specifically at Hotel Nikko," Billy told them, pointing to the mammoth building on the screen. "She's, uh, actually been working undercover with the bureau for quite awhile now."

"What!?" they all yelled again.

"Shit. I have to warn her," Billy said quietly, pushing himself out of the chair. While the others stared at him in disbelief, he reached into his pocket for his Blackberry only to remember that he had misplaced it. "Quick. I need a phone. Now!"

"Billy, what's going-" Aisha started.

"Now!" Billy interrupted demandingly. Trini extracted a cell phone and quietly passed it off to Billy who took it without saying anything. He dialed Katherine's cell phone number and brought it to his ear. It immediately went to voicemail and Billy cursed loudly at her overly chipper message. "Katherine, it's Billy. Call me back on this number. It's Trini's cell phone. Something is about to happen. Call me. Please."

He flipped the phone shut and collapsed into the chair, burying his face inside of his hands. Then he sobbed but only once before swiveling the chair back around and returning to the computer. Bringing up a web browser, he ran a search for the hotel that took him to the hotel's website, found the number and dialed it on Trini's phone. It rang twice before the line clicked and a female voice answered.

"_Hotel Nikko. This is Mary-Lynn. How can I help you today?_"

"Yes, I need Katherine Hillard's room please," Billy requested frantically.

"_One moment please._"

As the phone rang, Billy turned back around to look at the group of former Rangers. There was a mixture of anger, concern, hurt, confusion and betrayal amongst them all. He knew he'd have to explain but now wasn't the time.

"_Hullo?_" a sleepy Katherine answered.

"Katherine, it's me," Billy said quickly. "You have to get out of there, now!"

"_Billy, is that you?_"Katherine asked. "_What's going on?_"

"Yes, it's me," Billy replied. "I have satellite images on the hotel. Two Infernians just entered through the front doors. You need to get out of there and you need to do it quickly."

Kimberly squeezed Tommy's hand and, as Jason tucked Trini under his arm, Tanya and Aisha sought refuge with Zack and Rocky. Adam and Justin stood on opposite ends of the group, looking at each other and shaking their heads back and forth.Billy kept his eyes on the ground and the phone against his ear, listening to Katherine scramble frantically around her room.

"Katherine! Katherine, listen to me!" Billy demanded, squeezing the phone tightly. "You _have_ to leave now. Just take what you can carry and get out of there, please!"

"_Okay, okay. I'm going_," Katherine replied. "_But where should I go?_"

"Hold on. I'm going to get blueprints of the building," Billy answered, spinning around to face the computer. A few keystrokes later and he had floor-to-floor blueprints of the hotel. He scanned them for a moment, looking for the most and least obvious routes in and out of the building. "Okay, Kat, are you ready?"

"_Yeah. Just tell me what to do._"

"You're gonna need your hands. Put in your Bluetooth," Billy instructed, waiting until she confirmed that she had done it before continuing. "Alright, just stick with me. We're gonna get through this together, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart?" Tommy mouthed to Jason who simply shrugged his shoulders. He looked down at Kimberly and got the exact same reaction except Kim was wearing a half-smile, almost as if she was amused by Billy calling Katherine 'sweetheart.' Apparently, there were a lot of things about Billy and his personal life that he hadn't told them about yet.

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_Somewhere over France_

_2:44 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 11:43 p.m. Central European Time_

The black Boeing 747 jet was currently flying over the Administrative Division of Auvergne in the central region of France. Its occupants were sitting on one of the three couches made of the finest designer leather housed in the plane, laughing over a bottle of two-thousand dollar champagne. Soft music from Celine Dion was playing in the background.

To the casual onlooker it would appear like two lovers, albeit extremely rich lovers, simply engrossed in the company of each other, but to someone who knew who they really were, lovers was only part of the story.

Both were freshly out of jail and though one was recently released and one had only escaped from prison three months earlier, their methods of release were unimportant. Their paths had been drawn together by a similar goal; revenge on the things and people that put them behind bars.

For the female passenger, it was the government, specifically those of America and Great Britain; America because she had been incarcerated in an American prison for the better part of three years, and Great Britain for turning its' back on her when she had been imprisoned for spying, at the orders of her government and MI-6, on the American government.

Yes, even allies spy on each other.

Her male counterpart wanted so desperately to destroy the reason he had spent five years locked up in San Quentin State Prison for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder before being granted parole a year prior. It was _her_ fault that he had gone to jail. It was _her_ fault and _he_ was hell-bent on making _her_ pay for that.

Every waking moment of his life for the past year had been devoted to this day. Only recently, after meeting his female companion, had his outlook been transferred to a much grander spectrum. It was still about revenge but now there was so much more to it: money, power, status, the things that always attract the most evil sides of people.

"We are both going to be very rich, my dear," he said softly, taking a sip from the glass. "Very rich, indeed."

Looking up at him, she nodded her head and did her best to smile. Money was the only reason she even associated with this man. It wasn't for his looks, what with his scarred face and horrible complexion. It wasn't for his ability to satisfy her in bed, either. He was about as good in bed as a seventeen year-old high school virgin, ready to seal the deal for the first time on prom night.

No, it was definitely for the money. He already had a lot of it now, plenty of which had already been thrown her way. But it was the big prize, holding a handful of major metropolitan cities hostage only to ransom them back to the American government, that kept her putting up with him.

"I can hardly wait!" she exclaimed with glee, rubbing her hands together greedily. She picked a grape out of the bowl on the table and fed it to him as sexily as she could pretend to.

"Mmm…delicious," he murmured, licking his lips then moving across the couch so his lips were against her ear. "Just like you, my dear."

"You flatter me," she faux-moaned, kissing him on the cheek before pushing him back into his seat with a little extra force than was necessary. Not enough to throw him off, just enough to vent a little bit of pent up frustration.

He took a cracker from a tray, spread a little caviar on it and, extending his hands, offered it for her to eat. Looking at it apprehensively, she took a bite and acted like she enjoyed the way the salty, raw, fish eggs tasted. She hated caviar and the fact that Erik knew so little about her was just another reason she couldn't wait to get away from him; far away, too. As in a completely different hemisphere far.

Sipping his champagne and then setting the glass down on the table in front of him, he reached across the couch and took Jane's hands in his own, rubbing the tops of them with his thumbs. With a wicked grin on her face, she set her glass down next to his, leaned across the couch and kissed him wildly.

She tried not to seem too disgusted when he pushed her back against the couch and started to climb on top of her. The façade was a little bit harder to keep up when he lifted her skirt and started to unzip his pants but the thought of the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow kept her focused on the task at hand; dealing with another unsatisfying minute and a half of Erik Gross on top of her.

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_Room 17, Imperial Club Floor, Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, CA and Ranger Room, NBMAA Headquarters, Angel Grove, CA_

_2:49 p.m.  
_

Before leaving her room it had taken her a few moments to gather everything she needed: car keys, purse, the locket Billy had given to her after their first year of dating each other seriously; and as soon as she had retrieved everything, she fled the room and took off running.

Katherine was now on the run through the hotel hallways with Billy talking in her ear, giving her instructions for escaping from the building through the wireless Bluetooth earpiece she was wearing.

Every instruction Billy gave her, she followed exactly. When Billy told her to go right, she went right without hesitation. When he told her to hide in the broom closet around the corner and on her left until he told her it was safe to come out, she hid in the broom closet around the corner on her left until he told her that it was safe to come out.

After more than two years together she trusted him enough to know that he would to everything he that he possibly could to get her out of the hotel and to safety. Unfortunately, being roomed in a suite on one of the highest floors possible meant that it was a hell of a long way down to escape. With luck on her side, though, she'd still be able to make it out alive.

Stepping into the stairwell on the fourteenth floor, she started to descend, quickly taking the steps two at a time. Midway down the stairs, Billy told her to stop outside of the door to the twelfth floor. When she reached the wall with the red painted '12,' she stopped and pressed herself against the wall, looking through the window and then further down the stairwell for any sign of the Infernians.

"I'm here, Billy," she whispered. "What do I do now?"

"_On my cue you need to go through the door and take the hallway on your immediate left. When you come to the 'T,' let me know. Go…now!_"

Walking out of the stairwell, she turned to her left and started heading down the hallway that Billy had told her to. It took her just under a minute to reach the 'T' in the path. Now she had to wait for Billy to tell her whether to go right, left or stay straight.

"Now what do I do?" Katherine asked.

"_Take the hallway to your right and then you're going to make your next two lefts. There's going to be a door to another stairwell. I want you to take that down to the ninth floor. Let me know once your there. Go!_"

Following Billy's instructions, Kat immediately turned right, started down the hallway and then made her next two lefts. While she did this, Billy was in the Ranger Room looking at the secondary monitor housing the hotel blueprints, planning out in his head the next move that he was going to have her make.

When she finally got to the ninth floor, her adrenaline was pumping so fast that she completely forgot to tell Billy where she was. Instead, she flung the door open and came face to face with the two angry looking Infernians, the same ones she had sold the virus to.

"You lied to us," the first one said, approaching her as she backed towards the stairs. "You lied to us and now it's time to pay for your sins."

"_Kat! What was that!?_" Billy yelled, he waited a few seconds but got no reply. She was too busy running up the stairs to form a coherent answer for him. "_Kat! What is going on!? Are you okay!?_"

"No! I'm not okay! The Infernians are chasing me!" she shouted back, wincing when she visualized the look that she knew Billy was wearing. "I'm going up the stairs! I need a way out of this place!"

"_Hang tight, Kat. We're going to get you out of there,_" Billy replied.

Swiveling in his chair to look at the hotel's blueprints, he started to scan the computer screen for another possible exit route. Knowing that the Infernians had more endurance than Katherine and would eventually catch up to her meant that he couldn't send her through the hotel like a maze anymore. Katherine had more speed, though, and if she could keep that up just a little bit longer then he could get her go out.

"_Go to the roof._"

"What!? Billy, are you out of your damn mind!? You know how much I hate heights!" she yelled back.

"_Kat, go to the roof. I know what I'm doing. Trust me._"

"If I die," she started, "it's _your _ass."

"_You'll be okay. When you get on the roof you need to go to the western ledge. There's a fire escape but it ends on the floor above the lobby. You'll have to drop down from there._"

"Wonderful," she muttered sarcastically.

With that, Katherine kicked it into high gear on a dead sprint towards the roof and whatever plan Billy had for her, hoping that his plan was as good as he thought it was. After five minutes of running with the Infernians hot on her tail, she burst through the doors. She had to take a moment to establish which way west was and then ran towards the fire escape.

As she stepped onto the unsteady metal floor, the Infernians arrived on the roof and started to look around for her. It was the sound of her shoes going down the fire escape that alerted them to her whereabouts.

"After her," the first one ordered.

"With pleasure," the second replied.

Cracking their necks together, they leapt into the air and jumped the fifty feet across the roof, landing at the top of the fire escape. They gave chase and by the time they reached the fifth floor, the gap between themselves and Katherine had closed significantly; there was only a floor, maybe a floor and a half, between them now.

"Billy! The Infernians are getting closer!" Kat yelled into the earpiece, looking back to see the Infernians rapidly gaining more ground on her. "What am I supposed to do once I get on to the street!?"

"_I'm activating the GPS on your cell phone to connect with the automatic driver system inside of your Explorer. It's heading in your direction right now. By the time you get out on the street it'll be there._"

"It better be or I'm toast," Kat muttered, turning onto the second floor.

She reached the drop zone and looked back only for a moment, enough time to see that the Infernians were now less than ten feet behind her. Turning to look at the ground, she took a deep breath for the ride and leapt from the fire escape to the ground below.

_2:59:57...2:59:58...2:59:59..._

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_Woo-hoo! This one sure took me long enough! LOL. Sorry about that, folks. Real life started to kick my ass for a little while there. Hopefully you're all still hanging around out there reading this story 'cause, as the old adage goes, business is about to pick up. If things weren't interesting enough, they are going to get even more interesting with each chapter. Anyways, you know how much I love those reviews from all you lovely people so be sure to leave one for me. Talk to you soon._

_WK_


	8. 3:00 pm

_Centuries ago, a legendary inter-dimensional being known as Zordon came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a Command Center for his never ending struggle against evil. With the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into a superhuman fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could use their power to call upon colossal assault vehicles known as Zords. The identity of the six remained a guarded secret. At least, they thought it had…_

_This is their story. This…is the longest day of their lives._

_The following takes place between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Events occur in real time._

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_San Francisco, CA_

_3:00 p.m._

Katherine hit the ground and immediately started running as fast as her long legs would carry her. As she ran, she refused to look back at the Infernians out of fear that they were going to catch up to her, a prospect she was trying to put deep in the back of her mind. The alley was a long one and she had easily a hundred yards to run before she hit the main street.

Her legs burned from running for so long. She hadn't had to put that much exertion on her body since she had been an active Ranger. Her body wanted to shut down but she kept pushing, knowing that the pain in her legs was minimal compared to what she would feel if the Infernians got a hold of her.

Fighting the urge to look back at them, she let out a small sigh of relief when she saw her unmanned Explorer come to a stop at the end of the alley. Continuing to run, she reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulled out a set of keys, pointed the clicker at the SUV, and unlocked it.

"_Katherine, what's happening?_" Billy's voice came through on her earpiece. She didn't respond, just kept running. "_Kat, I need you to talk to me, sweetie. What's going on out there?_"

"What do you think is going on!? I'm running from the Infernians and trying not to die!" she shouted.

At this point, Katherine's impending escape was only twenty-feet away and closing. She just kept pushing, willing her legs to not give out. When she reached the Explorer, she practically ripped the door of its hinges. She started to climb in, only to freeze when she felt a strong hand fall on her shoulder. Immediately, Katherine spun around, knocked the hand away, and dropped into a fighting stance.

"Woah!" the man in front of her exclaimed. Katherine exhaled deeply and gave the man an embarrassed smile when she realized it wasn't an Infernian, but an officer with the San Francisco Police Department instead. "Are you okay, ma'am? You were running like someone was chasing you."

"I-I was, uh," Katherine started, doing a quick look around. Neither of the Infernians were in the area. "I'm late for an important meeting," she quickly covered for herself. "I'm fine, though. Thank you for your concern, Officer."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Katherine nodded quickly. "I really am terribly late, though. I hate to be rude but I must be going."

"Okay, then. As long as you're alright. You have a good day, ma'am," the officer replied, tipping his cap to Katherine who smiled back at him. She mumbled her thanks and started to get in her car as the officer turned to walk away. Her door was halfway shut when he spun around and called out to her. "Oh, ma'am!?"

"Yes?" Katherine responded impatiently after sticking her head out the door.

"Try not to speed too much," he answered with a joking smile. "I'd hate to have to pull you over and make you even later for that meeting of yours."

"Duly noted, Officer. Have a good day."

Finally alone, Katherine settled into the seat of her Explorer, laid her head back on the headrest, and let go another deep sigh. "_Kat, are you okay? Who were you talking to? What's going on?_"

"I'm fine, Billy. Just fine," Katherine replied with relief. Smiling at her luck, she inserted the key into the ignition, and turned the engine over. She had never been happier to hear a car start than she was at that moment. "It was just a police officer. I don't know why, but the Infernians seemed to have completely disappeared."

"_Affirmative. That is excellent news!_" Both enthusiasm and relief were evident in Billy's reply. Losing Katherine would have been devastating, not only to him but to the mission as well. "_Unfortunately, I think it's probably best if we move you out of the city. Do your parents still have that condo in San Mateo?_"

"Yes, but I don't have a key and all my clothes and personal items are still in my hotel room."

"_Don't worry about your things, we'll get in contact with local law enforcement and have them retrieve everything for you_. _As far as not having a key goes, that's never stopped you before, has it?_" Billy questioned with a laugh. Hearing Katherine chuckle back at him put a smile on his face.

"No, it definitely hasn't. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself."

"_Well, after everything we've been through together, I'd like to think that I know you pretty well, my love,_" Billy replied seriously. Katherine, knowing what Billy was talking about, silently nodded her head in agreement with him. "_Listen, Kat, I have to brief the others on what has happened recently. I need you to go straight to San Mateo. Don't stop for anything and call me as soon as you get there. I'm sending Adam, Rocky, and Aisha up there to take care of the potential threat at the baseball game this evening. I'll give them directions to the condo and have them meet you there and pick you up on their way, okay?_"

"Okay, Billy. Kat out," Katherine responded. She moved to end the phone call but Billy's voice stopped her before she pushed the button on her earpiece.

"_Hey, Kat!_"

"Yes?"

"_I'm glad you're okay and I-I…_" Billy started, stammering in hesitation. An anxious smile crept across Katherine's lips in anticipation of the words she had been waiting to hear Billy say for almost two years. "_I'll talk to you when you get to San Mateo._"

The smile on her face was gone as quickly as it came. In her heart of hearts, she knew Billy had wanted to say it but she was thoroughly disappointed when he hadn't, especially after what she had just gone through. The knowledge that she could have been captured and most likely killed…

"Okay, Billy," she sighed. "I'll talk to you soon."

Before he could say anything else, she tapped the button on her earpiece and ended the call. A solitary tear slid down her cheek as she pulled her Explorer into the traffic on Mason Street and pointed it in the direction of Interstate-80.

She had been so caught up in her conversation with Billy and the fact that the Infernians had let her go, that she never noticed the police officer slip his hand under the bumper of her car, nor did she see him disappear into the alley. Concealed by the shadows the hotel presented, the police officer stood face-to-face with one of the Infernians.

"Is it done?" the Infernian asked.

The officer's body began to shake back and forth as his appearance suddenly started to change. When the transformation was complete, the officer had been replaced by another Infernian. He reached into the inner pocket of his navy blue suit jacket and pulled out a device that looked like a compact. Flipping it open, he looked at the screen as a red dot turned left from Mason Street onto Eddy Street.

"Yes. The tracker is in place. We will know her every move," he replied and nodded his head in confirmation.

"Good. She will be the first of many to meet her demise for betraying us." The lead Infernian let out a maniacal laugh then turned to his partner and stopped his laughter almost instantly. "What of the files on the other Rangers? Do we have those in our possession yet?"

"The others are working on that as we speak. We have the files on Ms. Hillard, Mr. Oliver, Ms. Hart, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Park. We are still waiting on the others but we should have them shortly. The British woman has proven herself to be quite a valuable asset to our cause."

"Indeed she has. It is such an unfortunate shame that she too will eventually have to meet the same fate as the other Power Rangers."

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_Briefing Room_

_NBMAA Headquarters_

_Angel Grove, CA_

_Outskirts_

_3:14 p.m._

Once again, the Rangers were seated in the black leather office chairs surrounding the long oak table, enclosed on three sides by glass walls, only this time the curtains were drawn so that no one outside of the eleven people in the Briefing Room could see what was happening on the inside.

At the head of the table, Billy was using his laser pointer on a map of California, the small red dot hovering right over San Francisco. Adam, Rocky, and Aisha, knowing they were headed to San Francisco, made sure to pay close attention to everything that Billy was telling them. With the possibility of an airborne virus that had the potential to wipe out millions in less than a week's time, they all understood that missing even the smallest of details could spell disaster, not only for them but for the citizens of the United States, as well.

"As I explained before, intelligence gathered by our agents has led us to believe that AT&T Park on the China Basin will be one of the main targets for an attack by the Infernians today. Based on tickets sales, members of both teams, members of the media, and stadium employees, our estimate for attendance at the game is anywhere between fifty and sixty-thousand people," Billy started. Solemnity was the only emotion being shown by the Rangers. They understood better than anyone the consequences if they failed. "Because the symptoms of the virus take exponentially longer to appear in humans than they do on lab animals, it is a one-hundred percent certainty that anyone infected with the virus will pass it on. Whether it be through sneezing, coughing, touching door handles, sharing drinks, hugging, kissing, et cetera, this virus _will_ be spread to the masses. Fortunately for you three," Billy continued, pointing to Adam, Rocky, and Aisha "there are two positives in this situation."

"Positives, Billy? You're joking right?" Adam scoffed, shaking his head. A few of the Rangers who shared the same sentiments as the former Black and Green Ranger winced inwardly. "What positives could there possibly be when we're dealing with a virus that threatens the lives of millions of people?"

"Well, for starters, AT&T Park is an outdoor stadium. If the virus was released inside of a stadium with a dome, or a basketball arena, the chances of people being infected would increase exponentially," Billy answered. "Secondly, I firmly believe that the three of you, along with Katherine, have what it takes to make sure that this virus is not released tonight."

"Speaking of Katherine," Kimberly interjected. "You still haven't explained to us exactly what she's been up to in San Francisco _with the Infernians_. Would you care to enlighten us on that one, Billy?"

To Jason, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini, those who had known Billy the longest, it was obvious that this Billy was not the same person they had grown up with. Outside of the way he now dressed and the increased muscle mass, he was the same person aesthetically but his personality and demeanor told a very different story.

Everyone at the table outside of Justin had known Billy in some capacity and they were all struggling to understand the man standing before them. Whether it was his years on Aquitar, his time with the NMBAA, or a combination of both, that had caused this change, they didn't know. But what they did know was that trusting Billy was quickly becoming something that they really weren't comfortable doing.

Taking off his glasses, Billy carefully placed them in the breast pocket of his dark blue dress shirt. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh, one of both fear and uncertainty. It wasn't a lack of trust in the Rangers that made him apprehensive. He had known and gone to battle with almost all of the men and women surrounding him for many years.

As a child, the four other original Rangers were the only ones who had been willing to look past his geeky, awkward exterior and befriend him. In his teenaged years, they and the ones that joined the team after them, knew his greatest fears and insecurities. They shared in his successes and were there for him when things were tough. He knew he could trust them with anything but by allowing Katherine to go undercover with the Infernians, he had put her at risk of losing her life, something he was still trying to come to terms with.

Being Rangers, they had all faced the possibility of death on a daily basis but it had never been at anyone's orders other than Zordon's. Billy was still struggling with being in a position forcing him to make decisions that could potentially cost his friends their lives.

"Well?" Kim persisted when Billy hadn't replied after a minute or so. Looking at his friends, the people he loved more than anything, Billy let out another sigh.

"Seven months ago, myself and a few other high-ranking members of the bureau set up a false paper trail so that Katherine could infiltrate the Infernians. The Katherine Hillard that you all know became Katie Jameson, an escaped ex-con who had served multiple sentences for drug trafficking, armed robbery, and grand theft auto, at federal penitentiaries in Virginia and Louisiana. Using her false background, Kat quickly managed to work her way into a meeting with a pair of Infernians, the same Infernians that attempted to attack her today."

"So you put Kat undercover to get information about what the Infernians were planning on doing with the virus?" Jason chimed in.

"That's part of it," Billy answered. Instead of waiting for someone else to ask a question, Billy decided it would be best if he just told them the truth. "Yes, putting Katherine in with the Infernians provided us with an immense amount of knowledge of their plans. But no, not in regards to the virus. You see, before Katherine associated herself with the Infernians, they didn't even have possession of the virus. Per her orders from the bureau, she sold them the virus."

Anger, sadness, disbelief, and frustration littered the faces of the ten other Rangers in the room. Tommy felt his hand being squeezed tightly and looked down at Kimberly. It was clear from the look on her face that she was having trouble digesting this news. Knowing that Billy, one of her oldest and best friends, had authorized the sale of such a lethal weapon was damn near impossible to comprehend but it wasn't her that questioned him.

"Why, Billy? Why?" Trini croaked. She began shaking her head back and forth, unwilling to believe that the man she had known for almost all of her life was capable of doing such a thing. "How could you do that? How could you put so many innocent people at risk?"

Looking at his friends, he half expected Jason to jump out of his seat and attempt to throttle him again. He wouldn't have blamed the first Red Ranger if he had done so. At that point, Billy truly felt like his actions were absolutely reprehensible, even if they had been for a good cause.

"At the time, it was the only way myself and my advisors could come up with to get close to the Infernians. Look, I don't expect you all to understand why I did the things I did or made the choices I made," Billy answered, choosing his words carefully. "I'm sure you all think I'm a terrible person and I don't blame you for feeling that way. Right now, I feel like I'm a terrible person, too, but giving the Infernians the virus was the only way that we could get close to them and figure out their plan."

"I can't believe you. Newsflash, Billy, the Infernians wouldn't have even had a plan for the virus if _you_ hadn't authorized Katherine to sell it to them."

Ten sets of surprised eyes all turned to look at Tanya. Tommy, Jason, Rocky, Adam, Justin, Billy, Aisha, and Zack, those who had served with her and were close to her, were all somewhere in between shock and amusement. The Tanya they knew was soft spoken and didn't go looking for confrontation.

"I'm aware of that, Tanya, but the Infernians never had any intention of telling Katherine their plan for the virus. Their only intention was to purchase it from her and then never speak to her again."

"So what made them change their minds and tell her?" Rocky asked.

The second Red Ranger looked to Jason, his predecessor, and shook his head. Knowing what it felt like to be the new guy on the team, Rocky had always been rather protective of Katherine. Now, there were two former Red Rangers who wanted to strangle Billy.

Billy suddenly felt nauseous because he was the only one who knew what Katherine had gone through to get that information from the Infernians. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, gripping the table hard as vivid and disturbing images burned in his psyche. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at them.

"Outside of their increased speed, strength, and their regenerative abilities, Infernians are very much similar to humans. Not only do we share a similar anatomical makeup with them but they crave the same things humans crave: money, status, power, _physical contact_."

"You mean she-" Aisha started. Unable to verbally say it, Aisha allowed her voice to trail off as Billy nodded his head solemnly.

"Yes, Aisha. Against my wishes, Katherine engaged in a physical relationship with one of the Infernians. I told her that I didn't want her to do it, that it was dangerous, but she was committed to finding out as much as she could about them," Billy answered. Thinking about it made his stomach lurch and he had to swallow his own vomit back down before he could continue speaking. "Unfortunately, and I'm positive that if you don't hate me already, you will now, Katherine's course of action was a good one."

"What!?" Jason roared, making those around him cringe as he stood up and leaned across the table, pointing a finger at Billy. "What the fuck is going through that brain of yours, man!? How could you let Katherine put herself in a position like that!?"

"Jason, I-I promise you, I didn't want to. I know you probably don't believe me but it's the truth," Billy replied. "I've dealt with the consequences of my actions for the last seven months. I know that I shouldn't have let Katherine go through with it but you know her as well as I do. Once she has her mind made up about something, trying to fight her about it is like kicking a dead horse."

"I hate to admit it, I really do, but Billy's right. I dated Kat for almost two years and she's more stubborn than I am," Tommy interjected to Billy's surprise and relief.

Tommy shifted his attention to Jason and gave him a soft head nod. Letting out a deep breath, Jason returned the gesture, and slowly returned to his seat as Tommy looked to Billy once again.

"Listen, Billy, I don't agree with a lot of the shit you've told us today and, as a former leader, I'm trying my best to understand why you've made these choices but, unless you tell us right now that Kat found out something other than what the Infernians wanted to use the virus for, you don't have a leg to stand on, my friend."

Sighing, Billy nodded his head. "She did. It wasn't her relationship with the Infernian that allowed her to acquire this information, it only put her in a position to do so," Billy murmured softly. One look at Billy told the others that his decisions were tearing him up inside. Opening up the briefcase resting on the table in front of him, Billy pulled out a small vial with a clear liquid inside and held it up for them to see. "This is Sodium Pentothal. Do any of you know what this is used for?"

"I do," Justin spoke for the first time as everyone's attention shifted over to him. "It's a barbiturate general anesthetic. Police use it in interrogations sometimes. It's supposed to weaken the resolve of a suspect and make them more susceptible to telling the truth. International law also classifies it as a form of torture."

"Very good, Justin. For many years, Sodium Pentothal has been used as something of a truth serum but the results of someone under the influence of this drug have always been questioned. However, for reasons we have not yet discovered, Sodium Pentothal works on Infernians in a manner far superior to that of an average human."

"So Katherine injected an Infernian with that stuff and it made him tell her what they were going to do with the virus?" Zack asked, getting a confirming head nod from Billy. "But that still doesn't explain what else Katherine learned from them other than what they plan on doing with the virus, man."

"Actually, it does. I really don't want to agree with you at this point, Billy, because you've abused my trust and pissed me off beyond belief in just a few hours today, but it makes sense," Jason supplied, much to the surprise of Billy, and everyone else for that matter. No one was expecting Jason, of all people, to come to the defense of Billy. "If that stuff made the Infernian tell Kat about the virus than that means it should make them say just about anything if they've been injected with the drug."

"That's correct, Jason. Unfortunately, the time came for Katherine to make the sale of the virus to the Infernians before she could extract any more information from them. That's why your missions today are all two-fold."

"How so?" Tommy asked.

"The knowledge Katherine gained from the Infernians gave us three targets: the baseball game in San Francisco, the film festival in Los Angeles, and the surfing competition in San Diego. Not only do you need to prevent the virus from being released but you must also apprehend at least one Infernian, inject them with the Sodium Pentothal, interrogate them, and extract as much information as possible from them."

"Easier said than done, Billy. I fought those guys and they're tougher than anything we've ever dealt with before," Adam interjected. "I think it's pretty convenient that you want us to put our lives on the line when you get to sit here behind a freaking desk the whole time."

Billy started to reply to Adam when a knock came at the door. Rolling his eyes, Billy stepped from behind the desk and walked over to the door, opening it to find Agent Adamson standing there holding a royal blue PDA. Billy's eyes went wide at the sight of his Blackberry. Without saying anything to the Rangers, he ducked outside, and shut the door behind him. Once he was outside and face-to-face with Agent Adamson, Billy extended his hand as Adamson placed the Blackberry in his hand.

"Agent Adamson, you have fifteen seconds to explain to me how you found this."

"Mr. Cranston, I assure you I had nothing to do with this. As I'm sure you know, Agent Pierce was found trying to get into the safe in your office earlier this morning," Agent Adamson started. Billy knew about Pierce and nodded his head to show that he was aware of the situation. "Because Agent Pierce is my partner, and my friend, I wanted to be the one to take care of his body, to make sure that it was handled properly."

"That still doesn't explain how you got your hands on this," Billy replied, holding up the PDA and waving it in front of Agent Adamson's face.

"I'm getting there, sir. You see, I was the one who shot Pierce and I needed some time to compose myself before I could handle seeing his body. I went into your office at approximately 3:25 to extract Agent Pierce's body and found that," he pointed to the Blackberry "laying on the floor next to him. I quickly recognized it as belonging to you and, after everything that's happened today, I don't know who I can and can't trust in this place so I left your office immediately to bring it here to you, personally."

Billy gave the PDA a quick once-over and found that it had been turned off, which he never did. He made Agent Adamson stand there while he waited for the device to turn on. Once it came to life, he began searching through the files that belonged to the Rangers. It only took a single look at the files to know that they had been tampered with.

"Agent Adamson, have you tampered with this device at all?" Billy questioned. "Did you turn it off or look at anything that is on here? You have one chance to tell me the truth because if I find out otherwise, there will be dire, _dire_, consequences."

"No, sir. I swear to you, I didn't touch anything," Adamson answered, shaking his head adamantly. "Like I said, I found it laying next to Agent Pierce and brought it straight here. I didn't do anything with it other than that, I promise."

"Okay. I believe you," Billy nodded as Agent Adamson let out a sigh of relief. "Listen," he continued, patting Agent Adamson on the shoulder. "I know you've had a long day, and I know that Agent Pierce was a close friend both to you and your family. I want you to take the next couple days off. Relax, grieve, do whatever you need to do, okay?"

"Mr. Cranston, I appreciate the offer and, believe me, I'd love nothing more than a few quiet days away from this place with the wife and kids but, with all due respect, sir, I need to see the rest of this day through. After what happened with Agent Pierce, we don't know who we can trust here, anymore. You need an agent that you can trust."

"I respect your willingness to be involved with what's going on today, Agent Adamson. However, at this moment in time, the only people I know that I can fully trust are Ms. Hillard and the ten people sitting in that room," Billy replied, pointing to the glass wall behind him. "So please, go home. Enjoy some time off with your family and trust that I will call you as soon as I need you back here."

"But, Mr. Cranston-" Agent Adamson started.

"No buts about it, Agent Adamson! That wasn't a request it was an order!" Billy barked. "I respect you as an agent and as a person. I don't want to have to call security and have them remove you from the premises but I will do so if need be!"

Sighing, Agent Adamson nodded his head. "I understand, sir."

"Good. Now, please, go home."

"Yes, sir," he muttered in defeat.

As one of his best agents turned and walked away, Billy re-entered the Briefing Room with his head down, going through his PDA at the same time. He had only taken three steps into the room when he came to an abrupt stop and looked up at the other Rangers.

"Shit."

"What's going on now?" Tommy asked.

"No time to explain! You need to call your immediate family, any spouses, girlfriend, boyfriends, close friends, anyone that you are close to and you need to do it now!" Billy shouted, panic apparent in his voice.

"Woah, Billy-man! What's happening, bro?" Zack added.

All around the table, fear and nervousness controlled the emotions of himself and his friends. Rolling his eyes and then shaking his head in frustration, Billy stopped at the head of the table to address the Rangers who, apparently, didn't think that his orders were worth taking very seriously.

"Like I told you before, the bureau has extensive files on all of us. But in order to keep those files confidential, they only exist in three places: hardcopies which I keep in my safe, and electronic copies on my computer and Blackberry. Approximately one hour ago, I discovered that my Blackberry was missing and that I hadn't had it on my person for over three hours. Earlier this morning, we discovered an Agent working undercover for the Infernians trying to steal those files from my safe. He instigated a firefight and was killed by his partner."

This was news to the Rangers who had no idea there had been a mole within the bureau. Eyes and mouths went wide as Billy frantically continued to explain the situation to them.

"When Agent Adamson returned to extract the body a few minutes ago, he found my Blackberry laying next to the body of Agent Pierce. He just brought it to me. After checking the files, I discovered that someone had accessed and transferred them."

"How detailed are these files, Billy?" Kim questioned, giving Tommy's hand a squeeze from under the table.

"Extremely. They contain information on everything from where you went to school and where you work, to who your friends and family members are. If this information went to the Infernians, which I don't doubt it did, they now know everything about all of us," Billy answered solemnly. As the news began to sink in, the other Rangers could only look to each other in silence and in fear. "So please, call anyone you think could be a potential target. Let me know where they are the moment you find out and I'll send extraction teams to pick them up immediately. Go, now!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The Galleria at Ranger Point _

_Reefside, CA_

_3:24 p.m._

Though Kimberly Hart was not her mother, Jessica had inherited many of Kimberly's traits in the last few years that she had spent with her aunt. Out of everything Jessica had learned from her aunt, nothing was more prevalent than their shared love for shopping. After a long first day at Reefside High, she had walked the mile and a half from the school to the mall with her new friend, Jenny, with the intention of buying herself a new ensemble and maybe a few CD's using some of the money she had gotten from her birthday in August.

Checking out her surroundings, she came to the fast conclusion that this place was going to be a far cry from the high-end boutiques and shops she had grown up around in San Francisco. Still, like Kim, she could smell a sale from a mile away. Her intuitive sixth sense for shopping led the pair to a small store specializing in clothes for female teens and young women.

It only took her ten minutes in the store before she had found two pairs of jeans, a pink halter top, a cute pair of white flip-flops with little pink flowers on the straps and sides, and a vintage tee shirt with the six members of the original Power Team emblazoned on the front. As they exited the store, with two bags in her hand, Jessica looked at her receipt and smiled.

"Sixty-three bucks. Not bad for all this stuff," she said to Jenny with a laugh.

"Teach me to shop like that?" Jenny asked, giggling.

"Hang around with me and my aunt and you'll be a trained professional in no time," Jessica answered as the pair made their way across the first floor of the mall.

"Speaking of your aunt," Jenny started. "What time do you have to be home?"

"Kim owns the Reefside Sports Center so she's usually there till six or seven. As long as I'm home before she is, it's all good. Why?"

"Well, I invited some boys from my English class to meet us here. Apparently, your little outburst in Dr. Oliver's biology class this morning made quite the impression on one of them," Jenny replied.

Jessica blushed slightly and let out an embarrassed laugh. "Boys, huh? Are they cute boys?"

"The cutest," Jenny answered. A nod of approval, a smile, and a quick wink from Jessica's front let Jenny know that her new friend was_definitely_ up to meeting a few cute guys.

"Where are we supposed to meet them?"

"The food court."

"K, I'll tell you what. You take my bags and go get us a table. I need to go use the little girl's room," Jessica started, handing off both her bags to Jenny. Jokingly, Jessica continued. "If I'm not there in ten minutes, call the cops."

"Haha. Girl, if you're not up there in ten minutes I'm gonna claim both of them as my own and leave you here," Jenny shot back, getting a laugh from Jessica. Two minutes later, they reached the restrooms and Jessica received a playful push in the direction of the ladies room.

"Ten minutes!" Jessica called out.

Checking her cell phone, Jenny shook her head. "Eight, now!"

"Whatever!"

Laughing and shaking her head the whole way, Jessica headed for the restrooms as Jenny made her way towards the escalator. Entering a stall, a pair of black, male dress shoes in the adjoining stall immediately drew Jessica's attention.

_Those feet are way too big to be a woman's_ Jessica thought to herself. Feeling nervous and uncomfortable, Jessica quickly decided to find a different restroom. She picked up her purse and started to open the stall door when a firm hand suddenly grabbed her around the elbow.

Scared out of her mind, Jessica looked to her left and saw an arm going_through_ the plastic wall separating the two stalls. She opened her mouth to call for help but another hand quickly clamped over it. Dropping her purse on the floor, the body of an Infernian passed through the wall and into her stall.

"Speak or try to call for help and you die, is that understood?" the Infernian questioned in a low hiss.

A thin, brown spike slowly started to poke out of the Infernian's forearm with a sound that made Jessica nauseous. The inherited traits stopped here. Kimberly would have fought back but Jessica, who didn't have the exposure to alien activity that her aunt had grown up with on an almost daily basis, only nodded her head.

"Good. You are Jessica Hart, a relation to Kimberly Hart, yes?" Again, Jessica just gave a simple head nod in reply. The smile on the face of the Infernian scared Jessica even more than being grabbed had. "Excellent. You are coming with me. If Kimberly and her _friends_cooperate with us, then you will live to see another day. If not, then you will die."

With a snap of his fingers, the Infernian and Jessica were gone in a bright flash of green and red light. Only two minutes later, the cell phone inside Jessica's purse began to vibrate loudly. It was Kimberly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Briefing Room_

_NBMAA Headquarters_

_Angel Grove, CA_

_Outskirts_

_3:44_

In order to contact their family and friends in relative peace, the Rangers had all spread out into various areas of the building that had once been the Power Chamber. Jason, Trini, Adam, Tanya, and Zack had all gone to the holding room where they had first been brought to after arriving earlier that morning. Rocky, Aisha, and Justin were standing just outside the Briefing Room, and Tommy and Kimberly were inside the Briefing Room.

Still seated in her chair, Kimberly's spirit completely deflated as she tossed her cell phone on the table, burying her face in her hands. Tommy, who was standing fifteen feet behind her, saw her actions and chose to hurry his own phone call.

"_Thomas James, what in God's name is going on!?_"

"Look, mom. I can't explain everything to you over the phone. You just have to trust me on this one, okay?" Tommy requested, letting out a deep exhale. "I need you to get dad home immediately. People will be coming to pick you up as soon as possible."

"_Tommy, what-_" Janet Oliver started, only to be cut off by Tommy.

"Mom, no more questions right now, please," Tommy pleaded. "I don't have the time to explain everything to you. Just call dad. I called Sam and he's going to meet you at the house. I tried to get in touch with David but his phone's off. Try and call him, too."

"_Tommy-_" Janet tried again, meeting the same result.

"I gotta go, Mom. I love you."

With that, Tommy flipped his phone shut and returned it to his pocket. Walking over to where Kim was sitting, he stood behind her and laid his hands gently on her shoulders. He felt her tense up and started to massage her shoulders lightly.

"Are you okay, Beautiful?" he asked in a whisper.

"Jessica isn't answering her phone," Kim muttered, shaking her head. Tommy slid into the chair next to hers and turned it so that they were facing each other. "I'm really worried about her, Tommy. It's not like her to not answer when I call."

"Maybe she got detention and became a Power Ranger. Wouldn't be the first time that happened at Reefside." Tommy's attempt at levity and lightening the mood didn't work. All he got was a glare from Kim. "I'm sorry, Kim. She probably just met some new friends and doesn't want to be bothered. I'm sure she's fine."

Sighing, Kimberly nodded her head. "It's okay. I know you were just trying to make me feel better," she replied. "How about you? Have you been able to get in touch with your family?"

"I talked to my mom and Sam. Mom's gonna call dad and Sam's already on his way to my parents house. But David didn't answer his phone. Probably working or something."

"How is David, anyway? What's he doing now?"

"I haven't talked to him since his wedding. He just got back from his honeymoon last week but last I heard, he's doing good," Tommy answered. "Chief Stone made him a Lieutenant a couple of months back and I know that he was really excited about that."

"David's a police officer? I never knew that," Kimberly said softly.

Shaking her head, she began to realize just how much of Tommy's life she had missed out on and how much she would have loved to have been a part of; meeting the family he discovered after she had moved, his sudden interest in paleontology, becoming a Ranger again. They were all parts of his life that she'd never be able to share with him.

"Yeah, he joined the force about a year after Dimitria made us pass on the Turbo Powers. I think when he found out I was a Ranger, he was a little bit jealous and wanted to do something similar," Tommy joked, getting a small laugh from Kimberly. "Are you sure I didn't tell you about that when I came down to see you in Florida? I know my memory's terrible but I could have sworn I told you."

"I don't know. Maybe," Kimberly shrugged. "With everything that was going on, when I think about that year…it just feels like a complete blur most of the time. I don't even remember a lot of what happened after the-the…"

Tears quickly began to flood Kim's eyes. Immediately, Tommy pulled her in close, pressing her face to him, and started to stroke the back of her head, allowing her to let out her emotions against his chest.

"Shhh, Beautiful. It's okay," Tommy cooed in her ear. "Everything's okay, now. I'm here for you."

Sniffling, Kim pushed back a little, nodding her head as she wiped the tears away from her face. She was just about to say something when Billy came bursting through the door, the other Rangers following closely behind him. Jason and Trini were the first to notice Kim and came to her side immediately.

"Are you okay, Kim?" Jason asked after taking a knee next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't get a hold of my niece, Jessica," Kim nodded, half-lying. She wasn't quite ready to tell everyone the truth about why she hadn't had any contact with them for almost a decade.

"Guys, I hate to interrupt but it's time," Billy interjected. The focus in the room instantly shifted to where he was standing at the head of the table.

"Time for what?" Tommy questioned.

"We need to get you all in transit immediately. Adam, Rocky, Aisha," Billy started, turning to look at them. "Agent Brock is waiting outside for you. There's a chopper waiting to take you guys to San Mateo right now. A car will be waiting for you when you land. I've got directions to the condo where Katherine is staying. After you pick her up, you need to go directly to San Francisco. For some reason, the game has been pushed back from five o'clock to seven so you'll have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the layout of the stadium."

"Billy, how are we supposed to stop these guys?" Rocky asked. "I mean, we don't even know what we're looking for."

"You'll be briefed in the helicopter. I wish I could brief you all personally but we just don't have the time," Billy answered. "You need to leave immediately. I'll be in contact with you once you've rendezvoused with Katherine."

Knowing what needed to be done, Adam, Rocky, and Aisha stood up. As if on cue, the others all got out of their seats, as well. Hugs, handshakes, and wishes of luck were exchanged between the Rangers, and then the trio was gone.

Once they had left, the remaining Rangers settled back into their seats around the table and Billy returned to the head of the table to address the rest of them on their missions.

"Tommy, your team is going to Los Angeles. Jason, you and your team is taking San Diego. We've identified a hotel in each city that is housing a majority of the people attending these events. Since L.A. and San Diego are both relatively close to Angel Grove, you can drive there," Billy started, looking to the Rangers and getting confirming head nods. "Before you all can go, though, I need you to come with me to the medical wing."

"Why?" Kim asked.

"So you can be inoculated with the anti-virus. It will prevent you from being infected if the Infernians somehow manage to release the virus to the masses," Billy explained. "And before you ask why Adam, Rocky, and Aisha didn't get the vaccine, they will, I promise. Agent Brock is going to take care of them on the helicopter."

"Why can't we take the vaccine with us to use in case anyone does get infected?" Tanya questioned.

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough of the vaccine for everyone. We're still trying to find a way to mass produce it but, so far, we've only been able to make about fifty vials of the vaccine."

The Rangers all nodded their heads in understanding.

"So, what are we supposed to do when we get there, man?"

Billy turned to address Jason. "Each of your cars has a monitor that is connected directly to the bureau's intelligence database. Everything you need to know about your missions is on there. It's up to you to familiarize yourself with all the information before you get there."

Jason shook his head and looked to Tommy who gave him the same reaction. No one in the room was happy about what was happening. It was as if they were going into a life-or-death situation with blinders on.

Still, they understood that they were the only ones who could handle a situation of this magnitude. They had the training and the experience to take care of business. They knew what needed to be done.

"I guess there's nothing else to say then," Justin spoke. Shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, the youngest member of this prestigious and exclusive group let out a soft chuckle. "I never thought I'd have to say it again, but let's go save the world, guys."

Everyone but Kimberly and Trini got up. They remained planted in their seats, eyes firmly trained on the first Blue Ranger. The glares they were giving him sent shivers up his spine. He could deal with Jason, Tommy, Rocky, and the other Rangers being mad at him but it tore him up inside to see the first two people that he had really ever been able to call friends staring at him like that.

"What about our families, Billy? I still haven't been able to get in touch with my niece and Tommy hasn't gotten a hold of his brother, either."

"Your niece lives with you, right?" Billy asked. Everyone but Tommy looked at Kim in surprise. She avoided their looks and nodded her head. "I'll send as many men as I can to Reefside. If she's there, they'll find her."

Kim nodded her head. "Thank you, but what about David?"

"David's a big boy, Kim. He can take care of himself" Tommy interjected. "He's been a police officer for almost a decade. David's the one person in my family that I'm not really worried about."

"Are you sure, Tommy?" Billy asked. "I can send a team into Angel Grove to look for him if you want me to."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Billy, but I think it'd be best if you focused as much of your man power as possible on taking care of this crisis," Tommy answered. The nod Billy gave him was an appreciative one. "Like I said, David can take care of himself."

"Tommy, I really think-" Kim started but Tommy held up a hand to silence her and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side.

"Kim, trust me. We're dealing with the lives of millions of people today. As much as I want to know that David is safe, we've got more, and bigger, fish to fry right now," Tommy selflessly replied, then looked to Billy. "But if you hear anything about him or my parents can tell you anything when they get here, I'd appreciate it if you let me know."

"Absolutely, Tommy.".

He offered his hand to Tommy who stared at it hesitantly for a few seconds. He still wasn't all that trusting of Billy. But rather than cause more potential drama, Tommy pushed his emotions down and shook his friend's hand.

"Well, now that that's settled," Jason interjected, jerking his thumb towards Justin. "Little Boy Blue's right. We have a job to do."

Tommy nodded. "Let's do it, man."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Angel Grove Police Department_

_Angel Grove, CA_

_3:53 p.m._

The steps in front of the Angel Grove Police Department had become a rather intense media circus. Reporters from various newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, both local and national, had gathered to await Police Chief Stone and the impending press conference that was set for 3:55.

Amongst the reporters in the crowd was Cassidy Cornell, a young woman who had been one of Tommy's students during his first, and most exciting, year at Reefside High School. But Cassidy was not the same person she had been as a teenager. Interning at a television station in Reefside, working hard with no pay and even less respect had turned her from the annoying, pestering girl she had been into a confident, charismatic, hardworking, and _respected_ woman.

It had only been two months since Cassidy had been offered a newly-vacated reporter position in Angel Grove and, with no daily monster fights or active Power Rangers, this was her first really big story. The look on her face was one of both excitement and trepidation which quickly turned to frustration when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Police Chief Stone was supposed to be coming out at any moment and she'd be furious if she missed anything that he said.

She tried to ignore the tapping but it persisted until it became impossible to block out. Spinning around, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a young man standing behind her holding a camera on his shoulder. His shoulder length hair and goofy grin made him look like he belonged more in the 1970's than in the middle of a sea of reporters.

"Devin!" she shrieked, practically jumping at him. She threw her arms around his neck of the man who had been her best friend, cameraman, and almost-boyfriend back in high school. Once their embrace had broken, she stepped back and looked at him with a bright smile. "It's so good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"I'm working for KRTC down in Turtle Cove, now. Been doing camera work for them for almost a year," Devin explained. Laughing, he shook his head from side-to-side. "God, Cass. It feels like it's been forever. What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Cassidy shrugged. Devin knew all too well what that meant. He couldn't help but smile when he thought of all the crazy things that had happened to Cassidy and himself during their senior year at Reefside. "I got a job at AGTV here in town a couple months ago so I've just been doing that and I'm taking a journalism class at AGU now, too."

"That's awesome, Cass. I'm proud of you," Devin replied.

"Thanks," Cassidy blushed, smiling at the compliment.

Nodding his head, Devin took a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare himself to ask Cassidy a very important question. Cassidy sensed what was coming, and was actually hoping he did it but he was cut off by Chief Stone before he could do anything.

"Attention, everyone!" Stone called out.

Cassidy immediately turned around to face the podium at the top of the steps. When she looked back, Devin had disappeared into the crowd. Frowning at what could have been, she directed her full attention to Chief Stone. Standing at the podium, Chief Stone looked down at a prepared statement and began to read it.

"As I'm sure most of you all know and, for those of you who don't, the Angel Grove Youth Center, Gym, and Juice Bar was the target of an assault this afternoon. At this time, we do not know who was behind this attack, nor do we know their motive for it, either. We are also unaware of the condition and location of owner Ernie Genelle. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Angel Grove P.D. as soon as possible."

Jerome Stone was both visibly shaken and saddened by the day's earlier events. As he continued to speak, his eyes slowly began to fill with tears and his voice cracked on more than one occasion.

"The city of Angel Grove and its police department lost three exceptional members of the police force today; two officers and a lieutenant who, even though they were all off-duty, put their lives on the line in an attempt to save the life of another. We are both shocked and saddened by the loss of these fine men."

Chief Stone paused momentarily before reading off the names of the three who had lost their lives defending Ernie from the Infernians. He had to take a few deep breaths to compose himself before he could continue. At the very least, though, he was grateful that the members of the media were being respectful of the situation considering the way that they had all mobbed him at the Youth Center earlier.

"The first to be identified was Officer Michael Talbot. Michael was one of our youngest, and newest officers to join the police department. In the short time I knew Michael, he proved himself to be not only an exceptional officer, but an exceptional human being as well. He is survived by his wife, Jillian, daughter, Summer, age 5, twin girls, April and Melissa, age three, and his parents, Donald and Michelle Talbot."

Knowing that those three young girls would grow up without their father brought tears to Cassidy's eyes. It was clear that this was the last place Chief Stone wanted to be but, as Chief of Police, he felt it was his personal duty to deliver this information firsthand. Sighing, he read further down the list.

"We also lost Officer Talbot's partner, today. Officer Jonathon Dessler was in the middle of his second year on the force. In just under two years, Officer Dessler left an imprint on all of us that will not soon be forgotten. He is survived by his girlfriend, Alexis Benson, a brother, Adam, age 22, a sister, Alison, age 19, and his parents, Stephen and Denise."

The last name on the list sent shivers crawling up and down the spine of Chief Stone. Though losing a member of the force was never easy, the loss of this person, out of all of them, was the one that hurt the most. At this point, Chief Stone was crying without hesitation.

"The third young man we lost is one who had a profound effect, not only on myself and the other members of the police department, but on each and every citizen of Angel Grove, as well. He moved to Angel Grove over ten years ago in 1996 and became an officer in 1999. From there he was made a detective in just over two years."

Tears slid down Chief Stone's face in full force now as he struggled to maintain some semblance of composure. His eyes made their way further down the paper, his body shaking as he continued to read.

"The ranking of Corporal soon followed in the early months of 2002. In 2004 he became a Sergeant and, six months ago, I had the honor of making this young man a Lieutenant, the ranking that I had when I came to Angel Grove in 1995. Survived by his wife, Danielle, grandfather Sam, and brother Thomas Oliver, it is with a profound sadness in my heart that I am forced to announce the loss of Lieutenant David Trueheart."

_3:59:57...3:59:58...3:59:59..._

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_A/N: WOW! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this. Life's been crazy as hell this last month and change. Time just flew by and before I knew it, it had two months since I'd updated this story. Hopefully you're all still hanging around._

_On a lighter note, anyone who has heard Chuck Norris Facts needs to go to my profile page right now. Someone started a thread on Rangerboard for Tommy Facts and I contributed quite a few facts about the Rainbow Ranger that were not just knock offs of Chuck Facts. They're original, pretty damn funny, and if you like Tommy, I think you'll get a kick out of them. And my survey is still up on Shawn's website which is linked on my profile page, as well. So, check those out and let me know what you thought about them._

_Oh, and don't forget to hit that review box on your way out. Talk to you soon._

_-WK_


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